Fitting satellite tags to Steppe eagles in Salalah, January 2019.

by Bernd Meyburg, Faisal Al Lamki, Andrew Spalton and Mike McGrady

Since the second week in January we have been in Oman to capture Steppe eagles and fit them with satellite transmitters, and to provide training to biologists from the Office of Conservation of the Environment (OCE) in bird handling, survey and monitoring.  This effort has been collaborative (and will continue to be).  The main financial support came from a grant from the Anglo-Omani Society to Faisal Al Lamki at Arid Lands, the Bernd Meyburg Foundation for Raptor Research and Conservation, and International Avian Research.  OCE kindly provided accommodation, transport in Salalah, and important staff time in the field.  They also arranged for our permits that were issued by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs.  Also, and importantly, be'ah, the national waste management company, provided us with access to their areas and logistical support.

Salalah is a great place to do this work, not least because large numbers of Steppe eagles visit the rubbish dump every day during the winter.  Below gives you an idea...

A snapshot of Steppe eagles soaring over the rubbish dump at Raysut, January 2019.

In the end we managed to fit tags to 13 Steppe eagles, and to take measurements and blood samples.  As of today, all are beeping away and moving around.

An OCE ranger preparing to release a Steppe eagle fitted with a satellite radio transmitter.

In the coming days, we will produce some maps to show what the birds are doing.  Keep checking the blog or follow us.

We have also worked to train OCE rangers in conducting bird counts at the site.  This can be a challenge when there are over 1000 eagles flying around and perched at various distances from the observers.  However, the rangers have done well.  The aim now is for them to monitor the numbers for the rest of this winter, and to do the same throughout next winter and beyond.  The waste site at Salalah (Raysut) is being closed down and a new, modern landfill will replace it that is located about 70 km away.  It will be interesting to see what the eagles will do, and certainly modern waste management will have environmental and human health benefits.

An OCE ranger gathering data to determine the age structure of the eagle population that uses the rubbish dump at Raysut.