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<p>Understanding migration routes, seasonal timing, and movement strategies of long-distance migrants is essential for evaluating population connectivity and informing conservation. The Greater Spotted Eagle (<i>Clanga clanga</i>), a vulnerable raptor, winters in parts of the Middle East, but migration patterns of birds using the northern Arabian Gulf remain poorly documented. Between 2019 and 2025, we used satellite telemetry to track eight Greater Spotted Eagles wintering in wetlands surrounding the head of the Arabian Gulf in Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. Seven individuals migrated approximately 3,500&#xa0;km–4,000&#xa0;km to summering areas in the Kazakhstan–Russia border region east of the Caspian Sea, following migration routes south of the sea during both spring and autumn migration. Eagles showed fidelity to wintering areas across years and typically arrived at wintering grounds in mid-October. Adults departed wintering areas earlier than immature birds during spring migration, whereas differences in migration distance, duration, and daily displacement between age classes were not statistically supported. Stopovers occurred during both spring and autumn migration, and were concentrated primarily in wetland and riparian habitats. These findings provide new evidence of migratory connectivity between the northern Arabian Gulf and Central Asian summering areas, highlight age-related differences in migration timing, and fill an important knowledge gap in the migration ecology of Greater Spotted Eagles using this poorly studied wintering region.</p>

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Migration and migratory connectivity of Greater Spotted Eagles (Clanga clanga) wintering at the head of the Arabian Gulf

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月10日

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  • Michael J. McGrady,
  • Omar Al Sayed Omar,
  • Rashed Al Hajji,
  • Matthias Schmidt,
  • Madan K. Oli

摘要

Understanding migration routes, seasonal timing, and movement strategies of long-distance migrants is essential for evaluating population connectivity and informing conservation. The Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga), a vulnerable raptor, winters in parts of the Middle East, but migration patterns of birds using the northern Arabian Gulf remain poorly documented. Between 2019 and 2025, we used satellite telemetry to track eight Greater Spotted Eagles wintering in wetlands surrounding the head of the Arabian Gulf in Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. Seven individuals migrated approximately 3,500 km–4,000 km to summering areas in the Kazakhstan–Russia border region east of the Caspian Sea, following migration routes south of the sea during both spring and autumn migration. Eagles showed fidelity to wintering areas across years and typically arrived at wintering grounds in mid-October. Adults departed wintering areas earlier than immature birds during spring migration, whereas differences in migration distance, duration, and daily displacement between age classes were not statistically supported. Stopovers occurred during both spring and autumn migration, and were concentrated primarily in wetland and riparian habitats. These findings provide new evidence of migratory connectivity between the northern Arabian Gulf and Central Asian summering areas, highlight age-related differences in migration timing, and fill an important knowledge gap in the migration ecology of Greater Spotted Eagles using this poorly studied wintering region.