187 checks in after 110 days of silence

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

187 has reported in, after last being heard on 3 April.  There are still some Steppe eagles that have not been heard of since arriving on the summering grounds, but we remain hopeful.  The map below shows data since 3 April. The cluster of locations at the "start" label is most likely its breeding home range.  Recently, as the duties of being a territory holder wane, the bird has started moving and has come into the GSM network and started to upload its stored data. Over time the gap during 3 April - 21 July should be filled in.  As you can see in the post just before this one, other eagles are showing up after long periods of silence.  They, too, are probably now less tied to breeding home ranges, and able to move away.  Changing availability of food around their summer home ranges may be a factor in the movements.

Locations for 187 during 3 April - 22 July, that had been uploaded by 24 July 2020.

Steppe eagles are popping up!

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

Its been almost two months since we last reported on the movements of Steppe eagles we have been tracking.  One reason for this was that, upon arriving on the summering grounds, most of the birds 'disappeared'.  At the time we did not know for sure why they had disappeared, but thought that at least some of them had settled into areas with poor GSM coverage, meaning they were unable to upload their locations.  Although we were fairly confident that this was the case, we could not be sure until they moved back into GSM coverage, so in the meantime we just worried about them. As it turns out, we had no need to worry... at least for some.

Below is a map of four birds that have sent data recently.  183 went missing during 26 April to 2 July.  184 went missing during 9 April to 11 July.  185 and 186 have been sending back data sporadically since arriving on the summering grounds.  182 has been missing since 25 March, and 187 has been missing since 4 April (we hope they will show up soon).

The reason these birds are popping up now is that they are probably no longer tied closely to their nest site, especially if their young have flown.  In the coming weeks these birds may wander in the summering grounds looking for food (they should also upload the stored locations during the time they were missing).  Susliks, ground squirrels are important food, and their availability varies across the landscape.  Pretty soon they will hibernate, and that will be an important cue for the eagles to start their migration.

Stay healthy!

Movements of four Steppe eagles on their summering grounds during 15 May - 17 July 2020.

186 has been spotted!

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

Steppe eagle 186, an adult female tagged at Raysut in January 2019, settled into a breeding territory in Kazakhstan (See the posts from May 20 and 24).  Luckily for us, Genriyetta Pulikova was able to visit the area, and she saw 186 with her apparent mate.  It seems that the pair did not rear any chicks this year, but it is good to know that she has survived.  Without chicks 186 may wander around the summering grounds if prey in the immediate vicinity of her nest declines as summer passes.  Then, we hope it will head back to Oman, and we can continue to track her.  At the moment she is in heavy moult, growing new feathers for the coming year.

186 on her breeding territory, 16 June 2020.  The transmitter is easy to see (Photo: G. Pulikova).

186 showing heavy moult.  June 2020 (Photo: G. Pulikova).