Thousands of Endangered Steppe Eagles find refuge within refuse dumps

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Nowadays, it is increasingly rare and mesmerising to catch a glimpse of the majestic Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis. This large, powerful bird of prey was once considered the most common large eagle in the world, but has been tragically declining since 1997.

Earlier this year, a few lucky conservationists got a sighting they didn’t expect when they found around 6,700 Steppe Eagles at two rubbish dumps 170 kilometres north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, scavenging on animal carcasses & remains of chickens from animal farms.

It all started when a researching team noticed that a large proportion of the satellite-tagged Steppe Eagles they were tracking were showing up near the town of Shaqra in central Saudi Arabia.

After a number of subsequent visits and repeat counts at the sites, Mischa and his cooperators confirmed up to 6,000 Steppe Eagles at Ushaiqer alone, 60-70% of which were adults.  This is the largest gathering of this globally threatened species ever recorded anywhere in the world, and accounts for approximately 4.5-9% of the estimated global population.

“These findings highlight the utility of satellite tracking in discovering important sites for birds, and the benefits of international collaboration to identify and mitigate threats to migratory birds”, says Professor Mohammed Shobrak from SWA.

Source: https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/6000-endangered-steppe-eagles-find-refuge-within-refuse-dumps