186 has been nesting

by A. Spalton, F. Al Lamki, B. Meyburg, M. McGrady

Well the female Steppe eagle with the transmitter 186 appears to have taken stay at home advice seriously.  After about 40 days of no transmissions, it turned up and dumped some data, suggesting that it is a breeding bird and has spent much of that time sitting on a nest.  186 was already an adult when we caught her in 2019 at Raysut.  Below is a map of data from 29 April - 15 May.  You can see that 186 stayed mostly within about 2 km of its nest.  Only recent behaviour (perhaps ranging away from the nest or soaring higher) has allowed the logger to transmit its data to the GSM network.

It is likely that other eagles that have "disappeared" in recent weeks have simply been breeding in remote areas with no GSM coverage.  We hope to hear from them soon!

Location of likely nesting territory of an adult female Steppe eagle (186) in May 2020.

Ranging of a adult female Steppe eagle (186) during 29 April - 15 May 2020.