Lots of news

On 8 February a team from Oman arrived in Madagascar to cooperate for three weeks with Malagasy researchers working on sooty falcons.  This effort was part of a partnership that was initiated back in autumn 2013 with a visit by the Malagasy scientists to the falcons' breeding area in Oman, and is funded by a Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) with support from the Office of Conservation of Environment (OCE) in Oman.  The team spent its time surveying many parts of Madagascar, determining that most of the sooty falcons appear to be spending the non-breeding season in the southern parts of the country.  In due course more detailed information will be published.  Two other objectives were to capture and fit a sooty falcon with a satellite-received transmitter and to take what opportunities arose to educate the public about sooty falcons and their status.  The pictures below show the team with a bird caught at Ivato airport, a crowd around Gilbert Razafimanjato of the Peregrine Fund Madagascar and Mansoor AlJahdhami of the OCE, who are talking about sooty falcons, and a map of the movements of the sooty falcon (named "Ivato") during its first day wearing a transmitter.

The sooty falcon team and the airport manager of Ivato airport just prior to release of the tagged sooty falcon (being held by Waheed, 3rd from left) (Photo: M. AlJahdhami)

Gilbert Razafimanjato talking to a crowd about our sooty falcon work in Oman and Madagascar. (Photo: M. AlJahdhami)

Movement by "Ivato" during his first day wearing a satellite transmitter.

Also, and not to forget... 130393, a juvenile sooty falcon fitted with a satellite transmitter in Oman by the same sooty falcon team working at the moment in Madagascar has remained in the same general area in southern Madagascar, SE of Morombe.  The team were not able to visit this particular area, but were nearby and report that many locust were available and numbers of sooty falcons were seen roosting in baobab and eucalyptus trees.

130393's movements during 16-26 February 2013