Did you know that a steppe eagle can travel up to 2,200 miles in a single day? So we wonder how far and where they would go if we could track them for an entire year?
Well, thanks to a young man called Fahd Qash from Saudi Arabia, we can now see where 20 steppe eagles went for an entire year of their lives.
Fahd was walking in the swamp when he found a dead eagle on the ground with a tracking device around its neck.
It turns out that a group of scientists were tracking these eagles and now we can see exactly where they went.
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Eagles are incredible creatures.
Magnificent to look at but also to study due to their intelligence and their exciting lives that can last up to 30 years in the wild.The steppe eagle in particular is a very handsome bird.
It is a very imposing creature and boasts spectacularly broad and long wings. They are about 24-32 inches in length and weigh between two and five kilos depending on the whether they are male of female. Interesting fact: The female is heavier than the male.They feast mainly on freshly killed animals also known as carrion.
But they will kill rodents and other small mammals if necessary. They can also store their food in their throats for several hours before it is moved to their stomachs for digestion.This type of eagle favours open habitats.
As their name would suggest, you can find them in steppes, deserts, grasslands and sometimes even in agricultural areas. The call of the steppe eagle is a crow-like bark.The steppe eagle breeds from Romania east through to south Russia and Central Asia to Mongolia.
They typically lay one to three eggs in a stick nest in a tree.Steppe eagles are migratory birds of prey.
They tend to spend the winter in eastern and southern Africa although some also go to the Arabian Peninsula during the colder months.They are known for travelling very long distances.
A single eagle can fly up to 2,220 miles in one day. Boy must their wings get tired.But wouldn't it be amazing to see exactly where they go?
Like mile for mile. Even better if we could see what they saw too, but that might be just a pipedream.Well, thanks to Fahd Qash, and a bunch of scientists, we now can.
Fahd Qash from Jizan, Saudi Arabia found something unexpected. What he found was a dead eagle with a tracking devic… https://t.co/0CdjGg5FhX— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY)1551489939.0
A dead eagle that appeared to have a tracking device fixed around its neck.
@myth_vs_facts The eagle found dead in southwest of Saudi Arabia .. https://t.co/VuQozaLRW1— ♬ 🇸 (@♬ 🇸)1551639931.0
The device had been fitted in Kazakhstan in 2018.
A group of scientists had decided to run an experiment where they tracked the movements of 20 eagles for a whole year.The eagle has been identified as a steppe eagle.
Based on the picture, some researcher said it might be the Steppe eagle. The steppe eagle breeds from Romania east… https://t.co/vRVzlHjx52— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY)1551490500.0
Sadly the fact that it was dead meant it could not be brought in for questioning.
Sorry, the eagle passed away (peacefully I hope) so we didnt get chance to ask it too many questions. https://t.co/r30c73EAk3— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY)1551491238.0
But thanks to the GPS, they were able to create this map to show exactly where they went.
And boy did they get about. They flew across several countries in the Middle East but there are certain areas that they didn't seem to keen on crossing.People are just baffled as to why it avoided the Caspian and Red Sea.
The eagle has crossed many countries in the Middle East and, it is not sure why, has avoided the Caspian as well as… https://t.co/D1CKergLop— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY)1551490280.0
Thankfully, many offered up other reasons as to why it stayed clear of water.
@ZoologiMY Maybe they need some kind of reference bearing for their flight path? Easy to get lost when flying alone… https://t.co/EEaoXNk8Oe— muchawesomewow #StayAtHome (@muchawesomewow #StayAtHome)1551517028.0
Or did it just stick to areas that were ideal for hunting?
@ZoologiMY Eagle is a hunting bird..thats why the eagle didnt use the sea route..lagipun tekanan udara dekat laut a… https://t.co/HkgWTT00rs— M A R Y J A N E (@M A R Y J A N E)1551502322.0
No shortcuts for these birds.
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Apparently water is not helpful for high flying.
@ZoologiMY From what I know learning from watching raptors years ago, birds need hot air to rise. They climb up by… https://t.co/XdlAKpoKSn— Hafiz Noor Shams (@Hafiz Noor Shams)1551625283.0
Or to be all technical about it.
from MapPorn
Space eagles! Ha!
from MapPorn
Shall we send one up to see?
Maybe not. Might have the RSPCA on our backs. Or a particularly mad eagle pecking at our face. Ouch.And what if he needed a little sit down.
@ZoologiMY Maybe it's too wide an area, without resting spots? Plus the wind at sea could be too strong? (Tapi a bi… https://t.co/U3wPVRZl08— rottenberger (@rottenberger)1551494089.0
He would definitely need it after flying over 16 different countries.
from MapPorn
No need to get technical for this tweeter.
Food and shelter. Simples. The main things needed for survival.The British Birds reasearch team have tracked this type of eagle before.
The British Birds team have tracked 16 Steppe eagles before & they found out that the longest daily flight distanc… https://t.co/c03rqfLiUn— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY)1551491759.0
They also recorded a whole life cycle of this eagle.
They also recorded a complete annual cycle - an eagle spends around 31.5% in the wintering area, 41.9% in the br… https://t.co/cOIeE1hymV— ZoologiMY (@ZoologiMY)1551491830.0