Thanks to the satellite tracking programme, the Agency has gathered interesting information that will help it to conserve the eagle’s wintering routes and breeding areas.

The Steppe eagle is a relatively uncommon winter migrant to the UAE, compared to other countries in the region. They are more likely to be found in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman.

The Steppe eagle was brought to the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital by a member of the public, after it was discovered suffering from its injuries. The bird completely recovered and was rehabilitated at the Hospital for several weeks. It was then returned to the wild in January in Al Ain, near the Zakher area, and tracked by EAD.

During its continued winter migration from Al Ain, the bird covered nearly 4,000km to reach southern Yemen, via Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The bird wintered in Yemen, near the strait of Bab Al Mandeb, a well known wintering area for migrating eagles, until the end of February.

During its spring migration, the bird covered more than 7,000km to reach Kazakhstan, where it spent the entire summer, east of Lake Tenghiz.

“At EAD, we are always investing in cutting-edge technologies to understand our environment more. We are using satellite tracking to understand the movements and migration patterns of key bird species,” said Majid Al Mansouri, secretary general of EAD.

“These satellite tracking programmes for birds have helped us identify important stopover sites and key areas that need to be conserved for several species,” said Abdulnasser Al Shamsi, director of the Biodiversity
Management Sector-Terrestrial Environment at EAD.

“We now know more about the migration route of the birds wintering in the UAE. The spring migration and tracking of the bird during summer period has possibly indicated the potential breeding areas of the species wintering in the UAE and the rest of countries in the Arabian Gulf,” added Dr Salim Javed, deputy manager, Bird Conservation at EAD.

In a nutshell

· The Steppe eagle is an uncommon winter or passage migrant of steppes and semi-desert areas, mountains.

· The distribution of the Steppe eagle ranges over much of Central Eurasia to Altai Mountains
to Tibet.

· The subspecies orientalis breeds from central Eurasia and winters in the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and South Africa while the nipalensis subspecies winters in India and southeast China. This species is mostly seen from September
to April.

qudoos@khaleejtimes.com