Where eagles dare: tracking data reveals migratory pathways of Booted and Steppe eagles in the East Asia-East Africa Flyway

Abstract

Avian migration is inherently a risky endeavour, especially in the East Asia-East Africa Flyway where there are growing demands for resources. Raptors are particularly threatened due to additional factors like persecution, falconry, and electrocution. To monitor movements of and evaluate potential threats to migratory raptors in the region, we placed two GPS-GSM transmitters on a Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) and a Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) in northeastern Türkiye. The Steppe Eagle was tracked during fall migration to its non-breeding grounds, while the Booted Eagle was tracked for almost a full year from fall migration through the breeding season. The Steppe Eagle migrated 4409.6 km over 38 days in the fall, diverging from the typical “loop” route via Bab al-Mandeb and instead crossing through the Suez Canal. The Booted Eagle migrated 5080.6 km in 49 days during fall, crossing the Arabian Peninsula and Bab al-Mandeb before wintering on Mount Elgon in Uganda. A spring return of 6785.7 km in 35 days largely retraced this route. This is the first satellite tracking study to our knowledge of a Booted Eagle in this flyway, and one of the few studies of a tagged Steppe Eagle whose fall migratory path crossed the Sinai Peninsula.