Releasing 6488, January 2020.
6488“ was the first Greater spotted eagle we captured (15 January 2020) at the Al Jahra Reserve, Kuwait, and fitted with a tracking device. Since then, we have received over 3.5 million locations from this bird, showing its travels which have covered over 114,000 km. In the 5 years and 8 months it has been tracked, it has made 6 spring migrations and 5 autumn migrations. Figure 1 shows the movements of 6488.
Winters have always been spent in the Mesopotamian marshlands at the head of the Arabian Gulf, and Al Jahra and irrigated fields SE of the reserve have been a focus of its movements every winter (Figure 2). Indeed, because 6488 is colour-ringed, Kuwait Environmental Lens field workers have seen it in the reserve every year since capture. In recent years it has moved between Al Jahra and wetlands and agricultural fields NW of Basra. This fidelity to its wintering area is not uncommon amongst raptors, including eagles.
Although 6488 was an adult when captured, it did not appear to be territorial in the summer of 2020, but wandered widely (over 34,234 sq. km) in the Russia-Kazakhstan borderland (Figure 3). In2021 it settled into a territory near the Russian town of Chelyabinsk, some 3500 km away from Kuwait. Satellite images show the apparent nest site to be located in an area of woodland surrounded by agriculture. It has returned to that same site every year since. As with winter site fidelity, summer site fidelity is also common in eagles.
Migration between wintering and summering grounds have always followed a course to the south of the Caspian Sea, and were 2800 – 3200 km in length (Figure 1). The precise path of migration was not the same between years and accounts for the variance in distance despite wintering and summering locations being the same. 6488 commenced spring migration in late March and arrived on the summering grounds in mid-April; on average spring migration lasted 21.4 days. In autumn 6488 started migration in September and arrived on the wintering grounds after 15 October, taking 12 – 47 days to complete the journey.
6488 is still transmitting data, and we will continue to follow its movements. It should soon start its autumn 2025 migration back towards Kuwait.
