Greater spotted eagle at Al Jahra, Kuwait (© KEL/KFAS).

Spring migration is more or less over for the birds we are tracking.  That means that eagles that are going to breed in 2022 should be on their breeding territories, building nests and preparing to lay eggs.  Other eagles will not be breeding this year.  Those include birds that are too young and those that are old enough, but have not yet found a territory/mate.  A good example of this can be seen from our tracking data for Greater spotted eagle 6488.  It did not have a territory in 2020, but did in 2021 (See these earlier postings here, here, and here).

Over the next days/weeks I’ll try to update the situation with each of the eagles we are tracking.  Today is the turn of 6489, a female that was hatched in 2019 (we know this from its plumage) and caught by us on 15 December 2021 at Al Jahra.

6489’s spring journey

Map below. After release, 6489 remained at Al Jahra until the morning of 9 April 2022, when it departed on migration.  By 19 April it crossed the northern border of Iran and entered Turkmenistan.  It stopped over at a location along the southern boundary of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan during 21 April – 4 May. On 15 May it arrived at Kuspek Lake at Kuspek, Kazakhstan.

Spring migration of a subadult female Greater spotted eagle (6489) during 9 April – 19 May 2022 (© KEL/KFAS).

6489 in Kazakhstan

At the time of this posting 6489 has been settled at Kuspek Lake, especially within a small area of woodland to the south of the lake, not far from human habitation.  See maps below. We don’t know whether it will stay there this summer.  Because it is a young bird, it might wander.  We’ll have to wait and see.  If it survives and migrates in autumn, it may spend next winter at Al Jahra.

Locations of Greater spotted eagle 6489 at Kuspek, Kazakhstan, 15 – 19 May 2022 (© KEL/KFAS).

Concentration of locations of Greater spotted eagle 6489 at Kuspek, Kazakhstan, May 2022.  Most locations are within a line of trees about 250 m in length. (© KEL/KFAS).