Steppe eagles in Dhofar

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

We just wanted to get some initial maps out...

Over the last two weeks we have fitted satellite transmitters to 13 Steppe eagles wintering in Dhofar, Oman.  We caught the eagles at the old rubbish dump at Raysut.  Below is a zoomed out map of the tracks of 11 of the eagles.  Most of them have stayed south of the escarpment in the plain around Salalah.  At night most appear to roost at the escarpment, either in trees or on the many cliffs.  Most also continue to visit the rubbish dump (zoomed in map below).  Some few have made excursions to eastern Yemen, and returned, and shorter flights along the coast to the west.  Others have headed north a bit, some apparently around a chicken farm there.  Now it is just a matter of watching what happens.  It's hard to tell, but there are over 5000 GPS locations in the upper map

Keep checking this blog or follow us.  We will be making updates regularly.

Tracks during January 2019 of 11 Steppe eagles fitted with satellite transmitters at the rubbish dump at Raysut, Oman, 

Zoomed in image showing that tagged eagles spent a lot of time visiting the rubbish dump in January..

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.

Steppe eagles dying while on migration

by Mike McGrady and Bernd Meyburg

It is with sadness that we receive a report of about 30 Steppe eagles (and at least one Eastern imperial eagle) being found either dead in Iran, The photos below appeared in Iranian newspapers.  They show some of the birds, including some that are not dead.  Those that were alive were taken into veterinary care.  The birds were apparently sickened when feeding on chicken carcasses dumped along the roadside near Sarvestan (South part of the country).

We have not heard whether the poison has been identified or whether it is a natural toxin (e.g. botulism) or something anthropogenic.  Apparently, such events happen regularly during migration in Iran.  Also, there are reports of similar mortality events in India and along the migratory routes of eagles and vultures in south central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, but we know nothing of the scale.

Landfills and dump sites are sources of food for scavenging birds (indeed our tracked birds have spent every winter at dump sites in Oman and Saudi Arabia.  See earlier blog posts), and could have a positive effect, if they do not expose the birds to toxic material.  This can be achieved by proper segregation and disposal of toxic waste.  In Oman, globally important numbers of endangered vultures and eagles use the landfills and waste transfer sites.  If the food available to the scavengers there is safe, then the scavengers can benefit.

20 months of Steep eagle movement

by Mike McGrady and Bernd Meyburg

After animating the data on the movements of  an Egyptian vulture caught by us in Oman in January (see 31 October posting at https://egyptianvultureoman.blogspot.com/), John Burnside of Sustainable Houbara Management and University of East Anglia has kindly animated the movements of the Steppe eagles over the past 20 months (visit them on Twitter @SustainHoubara  and at sustainablehoubaramanagement.org ).  See below!  Pretty cool!.  (Click on the box in the lower right hand corner to open the animation in a new window. Return by pressing Esc).

After capture in January 2017, the birds migrated and summered mostly in Kazakhstan.  In winter 2017-18 they both were in Saudi Arabia, one in the middle and one on the coast near the Yemen border.  In summer 2018 they both migrated back to Kazakhstan, to areas different than those used in summer 2017.  In autumn 2018 both migrated back to Saudi Arabia.  Look back at earlier blog posts to get details.  Since tagging, one bird has travelled over 30,000 km, the other over 42,000. In the coming days we'll update where exactly the birds are in Saudi Arabia.

Both eagles in central Saudi

By Bernd Meyburg and Mike McGrady

The two Steppe eagles we have now been tracking for almost 2 years are back in Arabia, and both are currently located in central Saudi Arabia, NW of Riyadh.  See below.

Current location of two Steppe eagles first trapped in Oman in January 2017

162312 (the transmitter ID number) is back at the same location it used during winter 2017-18.  If you click on the image below to enlarge it, you can see the rubbish dump where this bird is spending most of its time.  You can look back at blogs from last winter.  For example: https://steppeeaglesoman.blogspot.com/2018/02/ 

Rubbish dump at which Steppe eagle 162312 is spending much of its time.

18 October 2018

105 had spent a month around Soltanabad, Iran, then on 16 October it continued on its migration south.  It moved into Iraq, and is currently near the town of Diwaniyah, about 50 km east of Najaf. It is not unusual for birds to stopover at sites along migration, especially if there is food.  We don't know much about the situation around Soltanabad, but would love to hear from anyone who has information.

Movements of Steppe eagle 105 during 16 September to 18 October 2018.

Late September - early October 2018

By Bernd Meyburg and Mike McGrady

It's mid-October and reports from Oman are that many Steppe eagles have already arrived.  Here is what our two tagged birds are doing...

162312 has migrated back to the exact location where it spent the winter of 2017-18, in central Saudi Arabia, about 180 km NW of Riyadh (Map below).  It arrived there on 28 September.  In 2017, it arrived in early November.  Have a look: https://egyptianvultureoman.blogspot.com/2017/11/  It is not uncommon for birds to show fidelity to their wintering areas, though we have few data about this from Steppe eagle.

105 started migration on the 3rd of September, though we did not know about it until some days later when it came into GSM range.  By 16 September it had made it to Soltanabad, near Ilam, Iran, where it has remained.  At Soltanabad it has been able to download the many GPS locations it logged during the summer, when it had been mostly out of GSM range.  Alireza Hashemi of the Tarlan Ornithological Society in Iran reports that there has been an outbreak of anthrax in that area that has killed many cattle, and so perhaps the eagle will stopover for some time more.  However, we predict that it will eventually move farther south (map below).

162312's locations since 28 September 2018 (dark blue) and locations from end of February 2018 (light blue).

Locations of Steppe eagle 105 at Soltanabad, Iran during 16 September - 11 October 2018.