130393: 18-26 December 2013

We are still tracking 130393, and it seems to be doing fine.  The map below is of its movements during 18 - 26 September,  On the 18th it was located near Imala, Mozambique.  By the 21st it had made its way to coastal Mozambique, but remained about 20 km inland.  Rather than crossing to Madagascar, it moved north, and was in the region of Mtwara and Mingoyo, Tanzania on the 23rd.  It then turned south, and by the 26th was located about 60 km SE of Mueda, and 20 km south of Muidumbe, Mozambique.

Movements of 130393 during 18-26 December 2013.

130393: 7-17 December 2013

It seems like something has happened to another bird/tag... this time in SE Kenya.  This bird is not that far from where a satellite tagged migrating Amur Falcon was located.  Click here: http://www.satellitetracking.eu/inds/showmap/?check_143=143&check_145=145&check_144=144 We are trying to follow this up.

130397 is still transmitting in Tigray, Ethiopia, and we can't seem to find anyone to go look for it, not least because the security situation along the Ethiopia-Eritrea is difficult.  Can anyone help?

The good news is that 130393 seems to be doing fine.  Below is a map covering the last 10 days.  In that time it has traveled from northern Uganda into Tanzania. On 14 December it was in the vicinity of Dodomo, and its most recent locations are near Ifakara.

Movements of 130393 during 7 - 17 December

Dernière information sur le Faucon concolore à Madagascar

Bonjour à tous,

Après notre retour d’Oman, nous avons déployé des efforts d’observation dans quelques sites à Madagascar pour vérifier si le Faucon concolore arrive déjà dans la grande île pour son hibernation ou pas. Mais, aucun individu n’a été observé jusqu’à maintenant dans les sites visités. Probablement quelques uns sont déjà dans nos murs mais nous n’avons pas encore la chance de les rencontrer. Ce qui nous intéresse tant c’est d’entendre dire qu'un ou deux ou même davantage des individus munis d’émetteurs satellites mis en place à Oman va débarquer à Madagascar très prochainement. C’est notre vœu le plus cher, en tant que biologiste et équipe, qui participe à la réalisation de ce projet.  

Photo d'un adulte de Faucon concolore prise à l'île Fahal

Gilbert Razafimanjato

26 November - 4 December 2013

For the most part the tracked birds continued to mill around in the areas where they have been for the last couple of weeks.  This behavior is not dissimilar to that witnessed when we tracked falcons in 2010 (http://sootyfalconoman.blogspot.co.at/), but the adult bird tracked from UAE (Javed et al 2011) did not show such prolonged stopover behavior.  However, at some point during 1-3 December 130394 did start to push south and by mid-day on 4 December was in southern Ethiopia, just west of Lake Turkana near the village of Chella.  When one zooms into this location it seems that the habitat is made up of small scale farms.

Movements of sooty falcons during 26 November - 4 December 2013.

130393, 94 and 97 still milling around

The three birds that are still transmitting are still milling around, and have not pushed farther south.  130393 and 130394 are in South Sudan, and 130397 is in northeastern Ethiopia, on the Eritrean border.  

Movements of sooty falcons during the 10 days before 1 December, 2013

130393 is located near the town of Wau.

The town of Wau, South Sudan.

 130394 is located near the town of Malakal.  Located in the Upper Nile of Sudan, and just above the Sbet River, Malakal is the capital of Wilayah State and home to the ethnic groups Dinka Ngok, Nuer and Shilkuk.

The habitat around Malakal, near where 130394 has been located.

130397 is located in the mountains east of Adrigat, on the border with Eritrea.  Adigrat is the second largest city in Ethiopia’s northernmost region, Tigray, with a population of around 130,000. Tigray is one of the most rural regions in Ethiopia, with just over 80% of the population residing in rural areas. The farmers mainly grow wheat, barley and teff, whilst they also look after cows, sheep and goats.

Adrigat, Ethiopia from the nearby mountains.

18- 28 November

We have lost contact with 130395 and 130396 and fear the worst.

130393 and 130394 are still moving around in relatively small areas  in South Sudan, and are about 400 km away from one another.

At 0800 GMT on 27 November, 130393 was located near the settlement of Fashin, and only about 40 km from its location 10 days previous.

At 1315 GMT on 28 November, 130394 was located near the settlement of Jaziel, and only about 110 km from its location 10 days previous.

Movements of 130393 and 130394 during 18-28 November.

130397 is still on the coast of Eritrea near the port city of Massawa

The movements of 130397 during 18-28 November 2013.

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And now for something a little different

While this blog focuses on the movements of a few birds, our main field effort is on the breeding grounds in Oman.  Although we know quite a bit about that breeding population, in some places the population of breeding sooty falcons is less well known.  One of those less well known populations is that on the Sept Freres Islands in Djibouti.  Below are some pictures taken by Houssein Rayaleh, the director of Djibouti Nature, a local NGO, who visited the islands earlier this year, and found birds breeding.  Houssein was unable to properly search the islands, but they are thought to hold 5-10 pairs, at least.  Djibouti Nature is also a partner in the tracking of an Egyptian vulture in the horn of Africa

The Djiboutian sooty falcon survey team

A sooty falcon with its prey, an African collared dove

At the moment...

130393 and 130394 are in South Sudan, not making much migratory progress, but presumably taking up local foraging opportunities.

130395 and 130396 have not transmitted for some time, and have us worried.  We are working with Saudi and other colleagues to try to determine what has happened.

130397 is moving around  coastal Eritrea, probably doing exactly what 130393 and 190394 are doing.

Not much movement

Well, since the last post...

• 130393 has moved a bit SW to near Wau on the 21st then SE to near Riani, South Sudan. That brings it back near to where it was on 13 November.  
• 130394 is presumably well in South Sudan, and we are waiting for new data.
• We still have not heard from 130395. It has missed three transmission cycles. We are working with Saudi collaborators to gather more information.
• 130396 is also worrying us.  It has missed 1 transmission cycle and was last heard over the Red Sea about 60 km from the African mainland at about 1900 hrs.
• 130397 is still hanging around the Eritrean coast south and east of Asmara.

Movements of migrating sooty falcons 12-22 November 2013

It is interesting to note that the migration pattern of sooty falcons tracked by us and Dr. Marion Gschweng in 2010 (http://sootyfalconoman.blogspot.co.at/) is similar to what we seem to be seeing. Birds seem willing to stop and wander around areas instead of constantly pushing south.  Presumably this is because while migrating the birds encounter good foraging conditions and just decide to take advantage of them.   So far the migration paths of the birds since they have been in Africa are different that the birds tracked in 2010, which may suggest that sooty falcon migration does not concentrate at any locations.  As far as we are aware no concentrations of migrating sooty falcons have been reported

What has happened to 130395?

We are a bit worried about 130395.  It was last heard at about 1400 on 14 November about 5 km E of Bishah, Saudi Arabia.  It should have reported in twice since then, but we have heard nothing.  We'll look more closely at the data running up to that last transmission and see if we can form a theory as to what is going on. We'll also just hope that it comes on again...

Here is what the others are doing...

130396 was last heard moving across the Red Sea on 17 November at 1900.
130397 was still in the vicinity of Mersa Fatma, Eritrea in the early morning of the 18th.  It has been in this area since early on 13 November.

Recent locations of 130395, 130396 and 130397.

130393 and 130394 are both in South Sudan.  Both have recently made moves north.  130394 started moving north on the 13th and by the 19th of November was just east of the town of Gogrial, South Sudan. 130394 moved north on the 14th and on the 16th it was near Malakal, South Sudan.  By the 19th it was near the town of Waat.  We don't really know what caused both of these birds to head north, but perhaps it was related to the local weather.  Here is a map of the weather in the region on the 14th, when they started to move back north.

Recent movements of 130393 and 130394.  Note that 130393 has moved north, and 130394 moved north, but has since moved back south.

Pace of migration slows

Since the last post, the tagged birds have not moved very far, and in two cases they back tracked.  We don't know why this is.  Weather can play a part in the pace of migration and falcons prefer to use advantageous weather conditions when migrating.  At the end of last week a cyclone hit Somalia, and perhaps the winds associated with that affected the falcons, especially those still on the Arabian Peninsula.  Also, these small falcons need to feed while on migration and so it may be that they are finding opportunities to hunt, and are lingering in good habitat. So, here what has happened:

130393 moved back north and was last located near the South Sudanese town of Lor.
130394 pushed farther south and was last located near the South Sudanese town of Wernyol.
130395 backtracked and was last located just east of Bishah, Saudi Arabia.
130396 jumped onto an island in the middle of the Red Sea, west of the Saudi Arabian town of Al Qahma.
130397 wandered around the area of Mersa Fatma, Eritrea.

Paths of five migrating sooty falcons during the 10 days prior to 16 November 2013.

Location of 130396 near the end of its transmission period on 15 November 2013.

Also, we wanted to draw your attention to Amur falcons (Falco amurensis).  Last year it was revealed that huge numbers of these birds were being captured in India for food.  You can find a report on that and the subsequent conservation activity at the CMS web site.  If you follow the "read more" link, you will get to a report that then has a link to see an up to date map of three migrating Amur falcons fitted with satellite transmitters.  Below is a map downloaded on 15 November.

Movements of three Amur falcons up to 15 November 2013.

وتستمر هجرة الصقر الادهم من سلطنة عمان

تتواصل هجرة الصقور الدهماء الخمسة التي انطلقت في مطلع نوفمبر 2013 من جزيرة الفحل ببحر عمان. ولكل طائر رقم تعريفي وهي على التوالي (130393، 130394، 130395،130396، 130397). وإليكم تحديثا عن المستجدات في هجرتها. والتي نتوقع أنها ستنتهي في جمهورية  مدغشقر.

تتواصل هجرة الصقر الادهم (صقر الغروب) من سلطنة عمان ويتوقع انتهاء مسار هجرتها بجمهورية مدغشقر

وحول تفاصيل الهجرة التي ترد بياناتها تباع عبر الاقمار الاصطناعية ،فقد واصل الصقر 130393 تقدمه من شمال دولة جنوب السودان في 11 نوفمبر إلى جنوبها 13 نوفمبر قاطعا ما يزيد على 500 كم.

أما الصقر 130394 فقد تقدم من الحدود الشرقية للسودان باتجاه الجنوب  في 10 نوفمبر متجها إلى أعالي النيل (جمهورية جنوب السودان) في 12 نوفمبر قاطعا بذلك مسافة تقارب 900 كم.

الصقرين 130393 و130394

أما الصقرين 130395 و130396، فيتقدمان ببطء من وسط المملكة العربية السعودية الى الحدود الغربية للمملكة جنوب مكة المكرمة وعبر أجواء جبال السروات بمنطقتي الباحة وعسير. وتقد مسافتهما المقطوعة بين 150 كم و 550 كم خلال أربعة الايام الماضية.

الصقرين بالمملكة العربية السعودية 

أما الصقر الاخير 130397 فقطع شوطا كبير منتقلا من اليمن (من 100 كم جنوب العاصمة صنعاء) عابرا البحر الاحمر بالاتجاه الغربي متوجها إلى السواحل الحدودية الشرقية لاريتريا. حيث قطع ما يربو على 450 كم بين الفترة من 11 إلى 13 نوفمبر.

الصقر 130397

Migration continues

Today 130395 did not move very far, and is currently located about 65 km SE of Taif, Saudi Arabia.

130394 traveled south into South Sudan about 100 km east of Malakal, and only about 215 km east of 130393's position.

Migration continues

The map below shows the movements of all birds. Changes since the last posting include:

• At 0600 on 10 November 130394 was located about 200 km NE of Kassala, Sudan.
• At 2200 on 9 November 130395 was just north of the town of Jarab in Saudi Arabia.
• Later on 8 November, 130397 pushed farther SW into Yemen and was located just north of the town of Rumah.

Movements of sooty falcons during 10 days up to 10 Nov 2013.

All falcons underway

130396 finally left the area where it was reared and started on migration. By about 10:00 on 8 November it was located close to PDO's Lahkwair camp near the Oman/Saudi/UAE border.

130396's first migratory movements

Also 130393 has moved farther along its migratory path, and by afternoon on 8 November it was located near the Sudan/S. Sudan border near the towns of Tungaru and Tongoi.

Related to what we are reporting, here is some information the migratory movements of Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) fitted with satellite tags in the eastern part of their distribution, and being tracked by Thomas Hadjikyriakou, a PhD candidate studying the birds in Cyprus.  The Eleonora's falcon is closely related to the sooty falcon.  The two species breed during summer so as to feed their offspring on autumn migrants, and the bulk of both spend the non-breeding season in Madagascar.

Two in Africa, two on the way

130393 moved across the Red Sea and was first detected in Africa early on 6 November.  At 1400 on that day it was near the Sudanese town of Kassala.  13034 also made the jump across the Red Sea and was first detected in Africa at about noon on 7 November, near the coast and near some islands that appear that they might hold breeding sooty falcons (Is there anyone out there that knows about the islands of southern Sudan, and can give us information?  Maybe the PERSGA guys?).  Its last location was near the town of Afflanda, Sudan.

130393 and 130394 cross the Red Sea into Sudan.

130395 probably started its migration on 5 November.  At 13:32 on 7 November it was located in the middle of the Rub' Al Khali in southern Saudi Arabia.

Locations of 130395 up to 7 November

130397 probably initiated migration on the 7th of November.  By early 8 November it was located in the far northeastern corner of Yemen, near the Saudi Arabian border town of Al Kharkir.

We expect to hear from 130396 that it has started to migrate.  Its last location was still on the breeding grounds.

Movements of 130397 up to 8 November.

130395 has left Fahal on migration

Three sooty falcons fitted with satellite tags in 2013 have started on migration; two have yet to make a move, but are alive and well.

130395 started migrating on 4 November.  Surprisingly, the first location on the mainland was at about 2200 hrs, so he was flying in the dark.  The last location was at 0300 on 5 November, south of Barka.

Movements by 130395 during 1-5 November 2013.

130393 made a further move and is now located on the Yemen Red Sea coast around Al Hudaydah. Almost certainly his next move will be into Africa.  Have a look at the two maps below.

130394's movement across Arabia.

130394's recent locations on the Red Sea coast

Migration has started

Two of the five birds that we fitted with satellite transmitters have started their migration.

130393 left Fahal probably on 31 October or 1 November.  By 11:00 in the morning on 1 November it was located near Samail.  Later that day it was located near Nizwa.  See the map below.

Just to remind you, these are not GPS quality locations, and so the accuracy needs to be kept in mind. The different colors of the dots indicate the quality/accuracy of the location estimate, with the green dots being best quality, white being less good, and brown being the least good.  Also, the lines that join the dots can be misleading, and you must remember that the routes taken are very unlikely to be straight lines.  In any case, it seems that this bird took a route that took it through the Samail gap.

130393 makes his first move from Fahal around 1 November
(Click on the image and it will open in a separate window and be easier to see.).

130394 has also started migrating.  It left Fahal probably on 30 October, and by the 31st it was located between Nizwa and Ibri.  By 3 November it had already moved into southern Saudi Arabia on the border with Yemen about 20 km north of the town of Sharorah.  See the map below.

130394 moved from Fahal around 30 October, and by 3 November was in southern Saudi Arabia.

The other three birds fitted with transmitters are still on Fahal and all seem to be alive and well.

A lesson in interpreting the data

First of all, the five birds we fitted with satellite tags earlier this month are all alive and moving around.  We can be almost 100% sure that this is the case because each tag has an activity sensor that indicates whether the the tag has been moving.  Since we just have to wait until the birds start on migration (which should be in the next month or so), we might as well use the time constructively, and learn how to interpret the tracking data...

Below is a map of all the locations of all the birds taken over a 10 day period ending on 24 October.  There are many more locations than what you see because many locations overlay one another, and so do not show up on the map (Hint:  If you click on the map, it should open in a new window and be larger and easier to see.).

One of the first things one notices is that not all locations are over Fahal Island, where the birds were reared. Although this implies that the birds actually moved sometimes large distances (about 40 km in one case) this is most probably not the case in every instance, and here is why....

These tags are very small (9.5g) to meet the constraints of tracking such a small bird, and solar powered. Because GPS tracking devices use lots of energy and so need rechargeable batteries, small transmitters like these use another method to estimate the location of the tag, and this method is not as consistently accurate as the GPS system.  This is how it is done:  

The tag transmits a signal that has two parts.  One part is a very stable pulse which the satellites use to estimate the location of the tag.  The second part transmits data like temperature and activity. The satellites that are passing overhead use the Doppler shift in the frequency of the stable part of the transmission to calculate the location of the tag, and the quality of the transmission and number of satellites involved are used to determine the likely accuracy of the location, its Location Class or LC.  Thus, for every location there is a likely error in accuracy, but that error is estimated.  In the best cases (LC3) the nominal accuracy is 125 m. LC2 has a 250 m accuracy, LC1 has a 750 m accuracy, and LC0 has an unmeasurable accuracy that is > 750 m (The location in the above map far to the west has an LC=0).

Although this sounds confusing the main thing to remember is that these inaccuracies exist and that they mean that data from these sorts of transmitters are best used to look at long distance movements, like migration between Oman and Madagascar.

Below is the map of locations for a single bird (130393) during 14-24 October.

مكتب حفظ البيئة يواصل الدراسات البحثية حول الصقر الأدهم بجزر بحر عمان- خبر صحفي

نفذ مكتب حفظ البيئة بديوان البلاط السلطاني هذا العام المرحلة الثانية لدراسات الصقر الأدهم (صقر الغروب) في محمية  جزر الديمانيات الطبيعية وجزيرة الفحل وذلك بالتعاون الدولي مع مؤسسة أبحاث الطيور الدولية بالنمسا وصندوق صقر الشاهين بجمهورية مدغشقر والتعاون المحلي مع وزارة البيئة والشؤون المناخية وسرية اليخوت السلطانية بشؤون البلاط السلطاني والمركز الوطني للبحث الميداني في مجال حفظ البيئة.

وحول المشروع أفاد الدكتور منصور بن حمد الجهضمي، المشرف على المشروع " بعد المرحلة الأولى في أغسطس الماضي والتي شملت التعرف على أعشاش الصقور التي تم استيعابها ودراسة تكاثرها، شملت المرحلة الثانية ، دراسة ايكولوجية الطائر، من حصر أعداد صغار الصقور ونسبة نجاح التكاثر وكذلك تثبيت نوعين من الحلق حول أرجل صغار الصقر الأدهم. النوع الأول عبارة عن حلق معدنية دمغ عليها رقم تعريفي والغرض منها التعرف في حالة العثور عليها أو إمساكها في الأعوام القادمة . أما الحلقة الأخرى في بلاستيكية تحتوي على شريحة رقمية والغرض منها التعرف على الطائر عن طريق قراءة الشفرة الاليكترونية بجهاز خاص بعد عودة الطيور من هجرتها للتكاثر بالسلطنة في السنوات المقبلة. وتساعد الحلق التعريفية والالكترونية في دراسة أعداد مجموعات الصقور على طريقة "الإمساك وإعادة الإمساك"  المعروفة في الدراسات الايكولوجية. وتستخدم البيانات التي تجمع عن إعادة الإمساك في عدد من الإحصائيات الايكولوجية المتعلقة بعدد الطيور ونسبة بقائها على قيد الحياة ومدى تعلقها بمكان العش أو الجزيرة  التي نشأت بها وغيرها.

وحول أهداف المشروع يقول الجهضمي : من أبرز أهداف الدراسة هو التمييز بين الجنسيين عن طريق أخذ مقاسات مختلفة لجسم الطائر  البالغ بالإضافة إلى عينات دم لإجراء الدراسات الجينية حولها بالتعاون مع جامعة السلطان قابوس، وذلك للتشابه المظهري الكبير والذي يستحيل معه التفريق بين ذكور وإناث الصقر الأدهم بالمعاينة، فتأمل الدراسة في كشف الفروقات وكذلك من خلال التحليل الإحصائي للمقاسات بالجسم، يتم التحقق من العلاقة بين تلك المقاسات وجنس الطائر وهل من الممكن أن تكون أحد المقاسات أو أكثر وسيلة للتمييز بين الذكور والإناث.

ويضيف الجهضمي :" كما ويهدف المشروع هذا العام التعرف عن كثب على مسار هجرة الصقر الأدهم والمناطق التي تقضي فيها فصل الشتاء.من خلال تثبيت خمسة أجهزة في عدد من الصقور لتعقب مسار هجرتها عن طريق الأقمار الاصطناعية من جزر بحر عمان إلى الشرق الأفريقي (وخصوصا جمهورية مدغشقر). فتتميز طيور الصقر الأدهم بتكاثرها في فصل الصيف في الشمال (منطقة الشرق الأوسط) وتهاجر لقضاء فصل الشتاء في شرق أفريقيا وجزيرة مدغشقر. وعليه تم التنسيق مع باحثين من صندوق حماية صقر الشاهين بجمهورية مدغشقر حيث حصل الباحثون على منحة من معاهدة الأنواع المهاجرة تحت برنامج الأمم المتحدة للبيئة والتي تم تنسيقها عبر مكتب برنامج الطيور الجارحة ومقره أبوظبي. وعلى ضوء هذه المنحة يزور حاليا اثنان من الباحثين بمدغشقر للسلطنة للمشاركة في المسوحات الميدانية في مجال الصقر الأدهم. ويأمل الباحثون بمكتب حفظ البيئة بزيارة جمهورية مدغشقر في فصل الشتاء العام القادم لمتابعة رحلة الهجرة وتتبع مسارها عبر الأقمار الاصطناعية والتعرف على وضعها في مناطق هجرتها والعمل مع الباحثين للخروج بنتائج يؤمل أن تعزز الحفاظ وصون هذه الأنواع النادرة من الحياة الفطرية.

وعلى هامش المشروع نظم مكتب حفظ البيئة مؤخرا في النادي الثقافي  محاضرة بعنوان الدراسات البحثية حول الصقر الأدهم بجزر بحر عمان بالتعاون الدولي مع مؤسسة أبحاث الطيور الدولية ومقرها النمسا وصندوق صقر الشاهين بجمهورية مدغشقر ، وتعاون محلي مع كل من وزارة البيئة والشؤون المناخية والمركز الوطني للبحث الميداني في مجال حفظ البيئة ، والقى المحاضرة كل من الدكتور منصور الجهضمي من مكتب حفظ البيئة  والدكتور دو رولاند  للي أرسون المدير الوطني لصندوق حماية صقر الشاهين بجمهورية مدغشقر ، المحاضرة التي جاءت لإطلاع الرأي العام والمهتمين على  طبيعة المشروع البحثي عن الصقر الأدهم بالسلطنة وأهدافه العامة والخطة التنفيذية الموضوعة من قبل مكتب حفظ البيئة لحماية هذا الطائر ، إلى جانب عرض الدراسة الإيكولوجية للطائر التي قام بها المكتب للتعرف على أعداد صغار الصقور ونسبة نجاح التكاثر والوسائل التي تم الاستعانة فيها بالعملية البحثية ، وتتبع مسار هجرتها إلى الشرق الأفريقي بالإضافة إلى الرؤى الإستراتيجية والخطط الحالية والمستقبلية التي يطمح إليها المكتب من هذا المشروع ، ولاقت المحاضرة تفاعلاً من قبل المهتمين والباحثين من الحضور. كما أجرى المكتب حوارات إذاعية في برنامج كلام النهار مع الدكتور منصور الجهضمي لمدة ساعتين وحوار تلفزيوني في برنامج  من عمان مع الفاضل وحيد الفزاري في 9 اكتوبر 2013م.

 .الجدير بالذكر أن هذا المشروع منذ نشأته في عام 2007 يعتبر  الى جانب المشاريع البيئية الأخرى التي ينفذها المكتب استمرارية لأنشطة مكتب حفظ البيئة الهادفة في تعزيز الوعي والتثقيف البيئي للمجتمع عن الحياة الفطرية  والبرية  وطرق صونها.

أحد الصقور بجهاز تعقب عبر الاقمار الاصطناعية

Catching up... Late 2012 to mid October 2013

It has been quite a while since anything has been posted to this blog.  We hope this will change in the coming months as we track five sooty falcons fitted with satellite-received transmitters (PTTs).  However, first we have to catch up with what has happened over the past year...

In late 2012 Lily Arison, who is the director of the Peregrine Fund Madagascar Program won a Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) grant to undertake work on sooty falcons.  That work aims to promote a partnership between Oman and Madagascar, do field work, do community conservation work and fit a sooty falcon in Madagascar with a PTT.

In December 2012, Waheed Al Fazari, Mansoor Al Jahdhami, Lily Arison, and Mike McGrady all attended the CMS meeting on the Raptors MOU in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  This not only gave us a chance to meet each other, but allowed us to speak to other researchers and conservationists in the Range States.  In the months since that meeting CMS has embarked on writing an International Single Species Action Plan (ISSAP), an effort being lead by Dr. Umberto Gallo-Orsi.

During the late winter, Lily was able to conduct some surveys for sooty falcons in Madagascar, and found concentrations of them in the SW, Central, and NW parts of the island.  We hope that future, more systematic, efforts will help us understand their non-breeding time distribution.

In Oman we conducted our seventh year of research on breeding sooty falcons.  We are only just finished with that work so have not got all the data summarized.  Generally speaking occupancy seems to be down in this year.  Productivity per nest appears to have remained about the same, but obviously with fewer occupied territories, fewer fledglings were produced in Oman.  As in all previous years, our work would not have been nearly  as successful without the help of Sayid Al Sayabi.

Nestling sooty  falcons sitting on a "reader" that allows us to identify ringed adults electronically.

We also continued trapping adults and marking them on the breeding grounds.  Our marking efforts in previous years are paying off.  In this year I think we trapped 18 sooty falcons, 15 of which were marked by us previously.  Such data can be used to estimate population size, survival and fidelity to the breeding sites.

Mansoor (right) with previously ringed adult sooty falcon.

As mentioned above we also fitted five nestlings with satellite transmitters.  At the time of writing this blog post they have been out on the birds for about 10 days and all seem to be doing fine.  As expected none have moved from Fahal as of yet.  This time is quite important to the birds and lets hope that they survive and start their migration soon. Keep visiting this blog for updates of their movements.  To make it easier you may want to become a "Follower" by submitting your email address in the box in the upper right corner of this blog or clicking on the "Join this Site" button.  You may recall that we tracked sooty falcons in 2010.  Visit the blog that shows what they did, to remind you of that work.

Locations of sooty falcons over Fahal Island, up to 14 October 2013.

 A highlight of the breeding season was the visit by Lily and his colleague at the Peregrine Fund, Gilbert Razafimanjato, to Oman in October.  It was the first time that either Lily or Gilbert had seen nestling sooty falcons.  They helped with the nestling phase of the field work, helped fit satellite tags to birds and were able to visit other places in Oman where they added to their life-list of birds they have seen.  Lily and Mansoor gave a joint talk on sooty falcons and the work by the Peregrine Fund in Madagascar sponsored by the Office for Conservation of the Environment (OCE) and the Environment Society of Oman (ESO).  Waheed gave a 10-min interview on Oman television, and Mansoor gave a two-hour(!) interview on radio about the work.

Lily Arison, Azan Al Sayabi, and Abdulmajeed Al Daarmaki, Deputy Director General at OCE

Lily, Gilbert, Qes Al Ruwayhi, and Hitham Al Ruwayhi fitting a satellite transmitter to a sooty falcon.

 I think that now catches us up on things that have happened, and in the future our blog posts will likely be shorter.  We will be posting to the blog every so often (twice a month?), so return to this site to see what is happening.