Greater spotted eagle eye candy

 

Transmittered Greater spotted eagle soaring over Al Jahra Pools, January 2022. © A. Al-Zaidan

As described in the last post on 18 January (here), we fitted GPS tracking devices to five Greater spotted eagles at Al Jahra Pools in December 2021.  Those join the other eagles we are tracking since January 2020 (see here and here).  Below is some fantastic drone footage of Greater spotted eagles flying above Al Jahra, shot by Dr. Abdulla Al-Zaidan (Deputy Director General at the Environmental Public Authority).  It is with the permission of the EPA that the study into Greater spotted eagles is being conducted.  (Click twice on the image below and it should open in a new window, and be easier to view) If you look closely, you can see the tracking device on some of the birds (around 28 and 35 seconds in), which are fitted as a backpack.  Enjoy!

Five GSEs fitted with tracking devices in December

Fitting a GPS-GSM tracking device to a Greater spotted eagle in Kuwait.

In December 2021 the project made a breakthrough.  The Kuwait Environmental Lens (KEL) team was able to capture five Greater spotted eagles (GSE), and fit them with transmitters. This of course will provide important and interesting data for the life of the tags, but it also gave team members the opportunity to train in trapping techniques, handling of raptors, and fitting transmitters to eagles.  The successes in trapping also boosted the morale of the KEL/KFAS team. 

Below is a list of the GSEs we are now tracking. All have been fitted with numbered rings that you might be able to read with binoculars or by taking a photo and zooming in.  If you are able to read a ring, let us know by leaving a comment on the blog.  Although the tracking data are interesting and important, nothing beats a direct visual observation of a bird.

Additionally, the UQAB website has been launched that gives a more complete overview of the project, and you can access the blog through that website, too.  Of course, you can leave comments and report sightings of ringed (and unringed) of Greater spotted eagles on the UQAB website. too.

A free-flying Greater spotted eagle fitted with a tracking device and wintering at Al Jahra, Kuwait. © Jasem AlMotar.

In coming blog posts, we’ll try to keep you up to date with the movements of the tagged birds.  For now, and until spring they will stay on the wintering grounds, mostly around Al Jahra.  We expect to be posting every few days, so return often to the blog to keep up.  Also, share the blog with your friends. 

Update 3: Tagged GSE, M8-46 (6488), arrives back in Kuwait

 After spending the summer in southern Russia (click here) M8-46 (6488) embarked on its autumn migration 2021 on 20 September.  Its autumn migration lasted until 15 October (25 days), during which it flew 3657 km.  Its average speed on migration was 16.9 km/hr (max. = 90 km/hr).  The bird made two stopovers – one in central Kazakhstan during 22 September – 4 October (11 days), and one in Turkmenistan during 6 – 8 October (1 day).

Track (purple) of an adult female GSE (M8-46, 6488) during autumn migration 2021.  Green diamond = start of migration, red stars = stopover locations, red diamond = end of migration. Grey line = movements during 2020, and other parts of 2021.  © KFAS/KEL/IAR

Not surprisingly, the Kuwait Environmental Lens (KEL) team were able to record the eagle's presence at Al Jahra very soon after its arrival.  See below.

The ring of M8-46 (6488) photographed soon after its arrival on 15 October 2021. © lkwtlens

Update 2: Greater spotted eagle 6488 spring migration and summering 2021

Following on from the previous update blog (here), this post recounts the movements of our tracked Greater spotted eagle (6488) during spring migration and summer 2021.

6488 departed from Al Jahra on spring migration on 22 March, and migrated for 25 days (until 16 April).  It flew a total of 4667 km, migrating across southern Iraq, Iran, western Turkmenistan, western Kazakhstan, and into southern Russia (See map below).  Average speed on migration was 21.8 km/hr (max = 143 km/hr).  During its flight to the summering area it stopped-over twice: once during 6 – 8 April and a second time during  9 - 14 April  in west-central Kazakhstan.

Track (green) of an adult female Greater spotted eagle during spring migration 2021. Green diamond = start of spring migration (Al Jahra), green stars = stopover locations,  red diamond = end of spring migration.  Grey lines are movements in 2020. © KFAS/KEL/IAR

Unlike in 2020, the eagle settled into a small home range, indicating that it was holding a territory.  Tracking suggested that it spent 50% of its time in a mere 0.63 km².  The summer range was located in southern Russia (approx.: 54.615°N, 62.664°E), about 90 km SE of the town of Chelyabinsk, and the habitat in the territory was lowland forest within agricultural areas. Although the eagle was holding a territory, tracking indicated that it probably did not actually breed.

Movements by an adult female Greater spotted eagle (6488) during summer 2021 (left panel).  Red box = area of territory. Black dots in lower right map = summer night roost locations. 

© KFAS/KEL/IAR

Update: Greater spotted eagle 6488 during autumn and winter 2020

As with the Steppe eagle we have been tracking (see here), we now need to catch up with the movements of the Greater spotted eagle (6488). We fitted 6488 with a GPS/GSM tracking device in January 2020.  We blogged about its movements here and here. Those blog posts took us up to the arrival of the eagle back in Al Jahra on 16 October 2020.  It is from there that we continue the story...

Autumn migration 2020 (green path in figure below) spanned 17 days (1 – 16 October), during which the eagle flew a total of 2611 km.  Its average speed on migration was 14.11 ± 18.68 km/hr (max. = 74.9 km/hr).  

Movements of an adult female Greater spotted eagle during January - October 2020. ©KEL/KFAS.

In winter 2020/21, 6488 stayed at Al Jahra (157 days).  Despite being "settled" at Al Jahra, the eagle flew a total of 2321 km during the winter.  When flying its average speed was 5.8 km/hr.  95% of its time was spent within 5.59 km², restricted to the Al Jahra Pools Reserve and adjacent land. 50% of its time was estimated to be spent in only 0.21 km².  See below.

Ranging of an adult female Greater spotted eagle during winter 2020/21 in Kuwait. Blue 100%, Green 75%, Orange 75%, Red 50% ©KEL/KFAS.

The eagle's ranging in 2020/21 (above) was similar to that in 2019/20 (below), though in 2019/20 we tracked the bird for a much shorter time.

Ranging of an adult female Greater spotted eagle during winter 2019/20 in Kuwait. ©KEL/KFAS.

On the move with Steppe eagle 6487

Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) © M. McGrady

Below is an animation of the movements of the Steppe eagle (6487) between 5 March 2020 and 28 November 2021.  Double click on it, and it should open in a new window and be easier to see. Details of the movements can be found in our earlier blog here.  An obvious feature is that the eagle wanders extensively on both the wintering and summering grounds.  During summer that means that it was not a breeder, but moved between sources of food (live small mammals). During the winter Steppe eagles scavenge more, so the wandering could have been linked to a scavenging lifestyle of ranging widely to find food... sort of like a vulture.

Its a New Year! The blog is back!

It has been about 10 months since we last blogged about the Kuwait Eagle Project (I'm sorry!).  However, THIS IS A NEW YEAR and the blog is back.  So, over the next few blog posts I'll try to catch you up with what has been happening, and once that is done I'll be a more regular and dependable blogger. Your part in this is to visit the blog regularly, leave comments and questions, and spread the news about the blog and the project.  So, here we go...

Let's start with the Steppe eagle we have been tracking, transmitter ID: 6487.  We left off last year with the story of its movements between January 2020 and January 2021 (here is the link to that post).  Below is a picture of a Steppe Eagle, just to remind you what they look like.

Steppe eagle 6487 photographed in Russia in spring 2020.

During winter 2020/21 this eagle travelled widely around the Arabian peninsula, covering 18,585 km.  It did stop for some days and weeks at some locations, and these were often waste disposal sites or near chicken farms. See map below.

Movements of a sub-adult Steppe Eagle (6487) during winter 2020/21. © KFAS/KEL/IAR

In spring 2021 6487 migrated during north again to the steppe grasslands of Kazakhstan.  That migration occurred during 6 - 14 April, and was along the western coast of the Caspian Sea.  During that migration the eagle flew 3331 km, with an average speed of  24.9 km/hr.  Its maximum speed was 70.7 km/hr.  Below is a map of that migration.

Spring migration 2021 for a sub-adult Steppe eagle (6487) © KFAS/KEL/IAR

Similar to the summer of 2020, during summer 2021 eagle 6487 wandered widely in Kazakhstan and Russia.  Summering for this bird  lasted until 9 September (143 days); during summer it flew a total of 15834.5 km.

Movements of a subadult Steppe eagle (6487) during summer 2021.  © KFAS/KEL/IAR 

Autumn migration occurred during 10 September – 28 November.  From its summering area, it flew west around the Caspian Sea.  It arrived at the Saudi Arabia border on 31 October.  It then pushed south, and ceased migration in southwestern Yemen on 28 November. As in 2020, more days were spent on autumn migration in 2021 (80 days) than on spring migration (13 days). During  autumn migration 2021 the eagle flew 9035.9 km, and its speed averaged 15.6 km/hr.  Its maximum speed during this migration was 68.3 km/hr. 

So, that brings us up to date to the end of autumn migration for Steppe eagle 6487.  I'll be posting more about this bird soon, bringing you up to date on the movements of the Greater spotted eagle we have been tracking since January 2020, and giving you news about more recent events.

Please let your friends know about this blog, and please ask questions by using the comment box. You can ask in Arabic and we will answer in Arabic.  

Juvenile Steppe eagle photographed in Kuwait ©Aref Alawadhi @arefwildq8