Annual field survey to count steppe eagle concludes

Muscat: The Environment Conservation Office in the Governorate of Dhofar, affiliated with the Environment Agency, completed the annual field survey to count the numbers of the steppe eagles visiting Thumrait in the Dhofar Governorate during the winter period, which is considered one of the migratory and endangered birds according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Dr. Hadi bin Muslim Al-Hakmani, Director of the Environmental Affairs Department in Salalah, in the Environmental Conservation Office of the Environment Agency, said in a statement to the Oman News Agency, that the results of this year’s field monitoring survey recorded the presence of the highest number of steppe eagles on January 25, near Al-Safa farm, where nearly 550 plains eagles had been recorded.

He added that the survey team carried out 84 field visits in two sites designated for the first survey near Al Safaa Farm and the second near Mardam Hakbeet during the period from the beginning of October 2021 to March 22nd 2022, noting that the highest number recorded in Mardam Hakbeet was 142 steppe eagles on February 8th.

He pointed out that the steppe eagle usually visits the south of the Arabian Peninsula during the winter period, and its numbers have begun to decline in the two sites, coinciding with the beginning of the summer migration season, which usually begins at the end of March, when the plains eagle leaves the Arabian Peninsula and returns to the nesting areas in central Asia.

The steppe Eagle Study project is one of the projects implemented by the Environmental Conservation Office in the Governorate of Dhofar since 2018, in cooperation with bird research scientists from Austria and Germany, and with the support of the British-Omani Society in London. At the beginning of the project, a number of satellite tracking devices were installed to study the behavior and paths of the migration of this bird of prey in order to obtain accurate scientific data that will help the competent authorities to take appropriate environmental measures to protect and preserve it from extinction.

The steppe eagle is unique in its dark brown color and long wings and a short, rounded tail. Females are larger than males, with the weight of an adult female ranging between 2.3 - 4.9 kg, while the weight of the male is between 2.5 - 3.5 kg.

These types of birds of prey feed on carrion (dead animals), rodents, medium-sized mammals, other birds, various reptiles, and insects.