J. Raptor Res.35(1):35-39 @ 2001 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.

THE MIGRATION OF STEPPEEAGLES ( NIPALENSIS)AND OTHER RAPTORS IN CENTRAL , AUTUMN 1999

ROBERT DECANDIDO Department ofEcology and Evolutionary Biology, The Graduate Center of the City University ofNew York, Suite 4315, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York,NY 10016-4309 U.S.A.

DEBORAH ALLEN The Linnaean Society ofNew York, P.O. Box 1452, Peter Stuyvesant Station, New York,NY 10009 U.S.A. il Ii r KEITH L. BILDSTEIN I, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, 1700 Hawk Mountain Road, Kempton, Pennsylvania 19529 U.S.A. ~

ABsTRACf.-Counts of migrating (Aquila niPalensis)and at least eight other species of raptors were made at Khare, a raptor-migration watchsite in central Nepal, on nine days (27 October- 4 November) in autumn 1999. Totals of 821 migrating Steppe Eagles (15.2 /h) and 129 other ~ migrating raptors (2.4 birds/h), including the globally vulnerable (Falco naumannl) (0.2 i birds/h)', were seen at the watchsite. Individuals representing 10 additional species that could not be " distinguished as migrants versus local residents also were seen, but were not included in the count. Most autumn migrants at Khare are believed to represent individuals from populations of raptors that breed in central and eastern Asia and overwinter in southeastern and southwestern Asia, the Indian Subcon- tinent, and Mrica. Raptor migration appears to be a regular and predictable phenomenon at the site, leading us to recommend its use by local residents, as a source of ecotourism revenue and as a focal point for environmental-education activity for school children, and by raptor conservationists, as a con- tinentally significant monitoring site. KEy WORDs: SteppeEagle; Aquila nipalensis; LesserKestref, Falco naumanni; migration; CentralAsia; Nepal.

La migracion de Aquila nipalensisy otras avesrapaces en el centro de Nepal, otono de 1999 RESUMEN.-Los conteos de Aquila nipalensisen migracion y de por 10menos otras ocho especiesde aves rapaces se llevaro.n a cabo en Khare, un ?bservatorio de ~vesrapaces migratorias en el cen~o d~ Nep~l I durante nueve dlas (27 Octubre-4 NoVlembre) del otono de 1999. Un total de 821 AquIla nipalenszs i (15.2 aves/hr) y otras 129 aves rapaces migratorias (2.4 aves/hr), incluyendo el globalmente vulnerable Falco naumanni (0.2 aves/hr) fueron observados en este sitio. Algunos individuos que representaron 10 especies adicionales no pudieron ser identificados como migratorios versus residentes locales tambien fueron observados, pero no fueron incluidos en el conteo. La mayoria de 105migratorios en Khare son considerados como representantes de poblaciones de avesrapaces que anidan en el centro y este del Asia y que permanecen durante el invierno en el sureste y suroeste del Asia, en el subcontinente Indio y en Mrica. La migracion de aves rapaces parece ser un fenomeno regular y predecible en este sitio, 10 cual conlleva a la recomendacion de utilizar este sitio por 105pobladores locales como una fuente de ingresos a partir del ecoturismo y como un punto focal para actividades de educacion ambiental para ninos en edad escolar, para conservacionistas de aves rapaces y como un sitio importante de monitoreo a nivel continental. [Traduccion de Cesar Marquez]

Central and eastern Asian breeding populations grate north-to-south through mountain passes in of Steppe Eagles (Aquila niPalensis) and other spe- the Annapurna range of the Himalayan Mountains cies of raptors, including the globally vulnerable of central Nepal and then east-to-west along the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumannz) (sensu Collar et al. range's southern foothills, at least since the 19705 1994), as well as large numbers of Demoiselle (Ali and Ripley 1978, Fleming 1983, Inskipp and Cranes (Anthropoides virgo), have been known to mi- Inskipp 1991, Grimmett et al. 1999). The magni-

35 36 DECANoIDO ET AL. VOL. 35, No.1 I

.I j tude of Steppe migration in the region, the ae.ruginosus], Eurasian Sparrowhawk [Accipiter nisus], Eur- i extent and location of the presumed east-to-west asi~ Buzzard [ buteo], , Booted Eagle co [Hleraaetus pennatus], Lesser Kestrel [Falco naumannl], ' route used by them south ~f the Annapurn~ ran.ge, Eastern Red-footed Falcon, Northern Hobby), were con- and the number of species of raptors mlgraUng sidered migrants if they passed east-to-westacross an through the region remain unclear (Fleming 1983, imaginary north-south line at the watchsite, and contin- de Roder 1989, Bijlsma 1991). ued westand out of sight over a ridge approximately 1.5 ~'T t d ta t . U. II t d km west of the site. Most Steppe Eagles were identified yye presen a on rap ..toor migra on co ec e. species as they approached to Within... 1.5 kin and, In at a Hawks Aloft WorldWIde watchslte (Zalles and many instances, their age was determined if they ap- Bildstein 2000) near the village of Khare, in central proached within 1.0 km. Nepal, 150 km west-northwest of the capital of It prov~d i~.possible to assi~ migrant ~r. nonmigr~t Kathmandu and discuss use of the site and its mi- status to indiViduals represenung 10 addiuonal species .' ..seen at the site ( [MiITntS migrans], Egyptian ~auon by local residents and raptor conservaUon- Vulture [Neophrvnpercnopterus] , Bearded Vulture [Gypae- ISts. Ius barbatus], Himalayan Griffon [ himalayensis], Asian White-backed Vulture [Gyps bengalensis], Red-head- STUDYAREA ed Vulture [SarcogypscalTntS] , Long-legged Buzzard [Buteo Khare (28°20'N, 8°40'E, elevation 1646 m) is a moun- rujinus] , Asian Black Eagle [Ictinaetus malayensis], Crested taintop watchsite in a small, 50-house village along the Hawk Eagle [Spizaetus cirrhatus], and Eurasian Kestrel Jomson trek, a footpath that connects the towns of Nau- [Falcotinnunculus]). Observations of these species are not danda to the east and Birethante to the west, approxi- included in our counts of migrants. mately 18 kin northwest of Pokhara and 150 km west- northwest of Kathmandu in the Himalayan Mountains of REsULTSAND DISCUSSION cen~l Nepal. The site, which sits atop a~ e~t-west, 1650 We counted 950 ra tors (17.5 birds/h) re re- m ndge south of the Annapurna range, is directly south-. .p. ..,p. east of 8090 m Annapurna 1, the highest point in the senUng at least nIne specIes, migraUng at the site region. Khare has a 360° view of the surrounding coun- (Table 1). Because it was not always possible to as- tryside, including the Yamdi Khola valley to the northeast sign Eurasian Buzzards and Northern Hobbies to and the Marse Khola valley to the south-southeast. Agri- migrant versus nonmigrant status and because we cultural lowlands surround the site, and oak (Quercus)- "" .'.. rhododendron (Rhododendron)forest occurs at higher el- were con~ervauve.rn classifying IndiVIduals of these evations (Inskipp and Inskipp 1991, Zalles and Bildstein two species as migrants, counts of buzzards and 2000). hobbies should be viewed as minimal estimates. The watchsite and timing of our observations were Steppe Eagles were the most common migrant (821 f 950 b' d ) f th ' chosen because earlier counts had been conducted there ti 86% at approximately the same time in 1984 and 1985 (de r~presen ng ~. 0 Ir s seen 0 e Roder 1989, Bijlsma 1991), and because of its potential flight (see also B1Jlsma 1991). Eastern Red-footed as a regionally-significant monitoring point for migratory Falcons and Falco spp., all of which almost certainly populations of central and eastern Asian raptors (Zalles were naumanni amurensis or subbuteo made up 5% and Bildstein 2000). fth fl'. h .' . an d 40170 0 e Ig t, respecuvely. Seventy-mne per- METHODS cent of the Steppe Eagles seen at the site (649 of Migrating raptors were counted during 54 h and 10 821 birds) ~ere counted on three of the nine days min of observations on nine consecutive days (27 Octo- of observauon (30 and 31 October, and 3 Novem- ber-4 November) in autumn 1999. Counts were made by ber). Ninety-two percent of all Steppe Eagles seen two observers using lOX and 8.5X binoculars for 4-7 hr were counted between 1100-1700 H with the peak ~aily. Observations t}pically began at 0900-1000 H local hour of eagle passage occurring a; 1100-1200 H Ume and ended at 1600-1700 H. Raptors were identified. . to species and, when possible, Steppe Eagles were iden- (FIg. 1). Twenty-elght percent of the Steppe Eagles tified to age class (Grimmett et al. 1999). The species seen were aged. Of these, 15% were first-year birds, identity of several individuals was confirmed from pho- 65% were subadults (2nd-4th year birds), and 20% tographs taken at the site (Porter et al. 1986, Forsman were adults (>4th year birds) (sensu Grimmett et 1999, Grimmett et al. 1999). Although a few individuals, al 1999) S . di ty h. representing two species of small falcons (Eastern Red- ..' pecles versl. was Ig hest on the treeh footed Falcon [Falco amurensis]and Northern Hobby [F. days (I.e., 30 and 31 October, and 3 November) subbuteo])and at least one species of (Circusspp.), when most individuals were counted. On these were. som~times difficult to identify, most raptors were three days, migrant species totaled 6, 6, and 4, reo. readily assigned to species. s ectivel (Table 1) Two observers (RDC and DA) scanned mainly to the p y .. east, in the direction of the small village of Naudanda, Although ~ few rapt~rs migrated east-to-west Kaskikot Hill, and, in the distance, Pokhara. Raptors, rep- south of the SIte, most migrants passed east-to-west resenting eight species (Western [Circus directly overhead, or within 750 m north of the

38 DECANDIDO ET AL. VOL. 35, No.1

servations to allow us to determine their effect, if Table 2. Raptors reported as migrants at or near the any, on raptor migration at the site. Khare raptor-migration watchsite in central Nepal, Our observations of the diurnal periodicity of the flight, which indicate a decided peak at 1100- SPECIES SoURCE"

1200 H (Fig.1), followed by a second Peak in late East ern Honey Buzzard (.~ISD ' ph' lorhoyn-,1 3 afternoon, are similar to those of de Roder (1989), chus)b who also noted that the greatest movements of ea- Black Kite (Milvus migrans) 1,2,3, this gles occurred between midday and late afternoon. study Possible explanations for the diurnal periodicity in- White-tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetusalbi- 2, 3 clude the location of appropriate roosting areas cilLa)b several hours flying-time to the east, and the diur- Black Vulture (Aegypiusmonachus)b 2,3 nal shifts in soaring conditions at the site, both of (Neophronpercnopten4S) 1, 2, 3 which merit additional investigation. Short-toed Eagle (Circaetusgallicus) b 2, 3 (Circus aerugi- This study A large-scale, east-to-west, autumn movement of )b H nosuHs . A uila eagles alon the southern foothills of the q g en arner (C.G)'aneus) 1, 2, 3 Himalayan Mountains was first observed by R.L. (C. macrourus)b 1, 3 Fleming, Jr. in 1983 (Fleming 1983). The 821 ea- Montagu's Harrier (C, pygargus)b 1,3; gles we counted over 9 d in late October-early No- Besra (Accipiter virgatus) 1, 3 vember 1999, together with the 1100 seen by Bijls- Shikra (A, badius)b 1,3 ma (1991) in approximately the same area over the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (A. nisus)b 1,2,3, this same 9 d in 1984, and the 4907 seen by de Roder study (1989) at Khare during the same 9 d in 1985, large- Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo) I, 2, 3, this ly confirm Fleming's initial description of the study flIght...Lon The route, which apparently results when g-legged Buzzard (B. rulinus~" ) 1 2, 3 , this p lensis) 1 S2tud3Y tho south-bound migrants from central and east Asia St E I (A ,La . eppe ag e quI nl a , , , IS detour around the e~tern flank of the Tibetan Pla- study teau, enables the birds to soar on updrafts and Imperial Eagle (A. heliaca) I, 2, 3 thermals along the southern foothills of the Hi- Booted Eagle (Hieraaetuspennatus) 2, this study malayan Mountains of Nepal, and presumably, Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumannl) 1,2,3, this northern (Fleming 1983, Bijlsma 1991). AI- study though the ultimate destination of the birds is Eurasian Kestrel (1': tinnunculus) 2 thought to be southern Asia, including India and E~tem Red-footed Falcon (1': amuren- 1,2,3, this possibly Arabia, some of the birds may reach SIS) study (Welch and Welch 1991). Northern Hobby (1': sub~teo) 2, this study S .11 I h . th al . d (1': cherrug) 1, 3 nunc ear, owever, IS e season magnltu e P ' Fal ( "" n", ' eregnne con ". r.,~gnnus ) b 1, 3 of the flight, which to date has been observed for Barbary Falcon (1': pelegrinoides)b I, 3 only relatively brief periods of time in anyone au- ." .. (. 25 d . 1984 18 d . 1985 d 9 d .I-de Roder (1989), 2-Bulsma (1991), 3-Zalles and Blldstem tumn I.e., In , In , an In (2000). 1999). Fleming (1983) estimated a seasonal pas- b Irregular or uncommonmigrant. sage of at least 45000 eagles, while de Roder' Seenin 1999,but not separatednumerically from local resi- (1989) estimated the passage at between 10000- dents. 20000 individuals. Our observations lead us to sug- gest that while> 1 0000 eagles probably do pass the that at least five species used the corridor, de Rod- site in most autumns (see Zalles and Bildstein er (1989) reported 18 species, and Bijlsma (1991) 2000), additional season-long observations (i.e., 16 species. Zalles and Bildstein (2000) summariz- late September-early December) are needed to ing these earlier efforts, suggested that 21 species provide more accurate estimates of the magnitude regularly migrate at the site (Table 2). of the flight. In addition to Steppe Eagles, we identified 18 RECOMMENDATIONS additional species of raptors at the site, at least Our observations, together with those of Flem- eight of which certainly included migratory indi- ing (1983), de Roder (1989), and Bijlsma (1991), viduals (Table 1). Fleming (1983) initially reported confirm a significant east-west movement of Steppe MARCH2001 111111111 RAPTORMIGRAnON IN NEPAL 39

Eagles and smaller numbers of as many as 20 other LARC, P.o. Box No.1 Pokhara, Gandaki Zone, Nepal. f t th h th . 0 f th This is Hawk Mountain Sanctuary contribution number specIes. 0 rap ors roug e regIon. ne 0 e 45. species migrating at the site, the Lesser Kestrel, is a globally vulnerable raptor whose western Euro- LITERATURECITED pean populations recently have declined precipi- ALl, S. ANDS.D. RIPLEY.1978. Handbook of the birds of tously and whose central Asia populations are little India and . Vol. 1. 2nd Ed. Oxford Vniv. studied (Collar et al. 1994). It may merit additional Press, Bombay, India. monitoring at the site (Zalles and Bildstein 2000). BIJLSMA,R.G. 1991. Migration of raptors and Demoiselle The fairly-consistent nature of the flight (local Cranes over central Nepal. Birds PreyBuU. 4:73-80. eather conditions notwithstanding) suggests that CoU.AR, NJ., MJ. CROSBY,AND AJ. STATTERSFIELD.1994. W Birds to watch 2: the world list of threatened birds. the Khare watchsIte has potenual for momtonng . dLi£ C . Se. N 4 B. dl ." Blr e onservanon nes o. .lr ue I nterna- regIonal populauons of central..non, and east AsIa mI- . al Cambnge,..d V K. gratory ra~tors, and for serVln~ as ~ enVlronmen- DE RODER,F.E. 1989. The migration of raptors south of tal educauon center for local InhabItants and as a Annapurna, Nepal, autumn 1985. FO1itail4:9-17. source of ecotourism revenue. Indeed, during our FLEMING,RL., JR. 1983. An east-westAquila eagle migra- stay at Khare we were visited by a teacher from a tion in the . J. BombayNat. Hist. Soc.80:58- local school, along with several of his students, all 62. of whom were both curious and enthusiastic about FORSMAN,D. 1999. The raptors of Europe and the Middle our activities. Although local villagers were able to East: a handbook of identification. T. & A.D. Poy- distinguish vultures from other raptors none was ser, Calton, V.K. fth b . 1 .. fS ' E 1 GRIMMETT, R, C. INSKlPP, AND T. INSKIPP. 1999. A guide

aware 0 e . su stanUa mIgraUon 0 teppe ag es th b . d f I di Pakis N I B I d h rey. Ne pal ese schis 00 are m.to Bh elrsona, S . Lanka d th Mtan,epa,angaes,Id. P t V and other bIrds of P utan, n , an e a lves. nnce. on my.. recess ~om mi~-October thro~gh mid-.November, Press, Princeton, NJ V.S.A. presenung an Ideal opportunIty to traIn and use INSKlPP,C. ANDT. INSKIPP.1991. A guide to the birds of students to monitor the migration on a long-term Nepal, 2nd Ed. Christopher Helm, London, V.K. basis. PORTER,RF., L. WIU.IS, S. CHRISTENSEN,AND B.P. NIEL- SEN. 1986. Flight identification guide of European ACKNOWLEDGMENTS raptors, 3rd Ed. T. & A.D. Poyser, Calton, V.K. We sincerely appreciate the encouragement and WELCH,G. ANDH. WELCH.1991. The autumn migration thoughtful advice ofP. Kerlinger, as well as the comments of the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis.Sandgrouse 13: and suggestions of A. ,J. Smith, and R. Yosef on an 24-33 earl~er vers~on of the manuscript. M. Gauchan and her ZALLES, J.I. AND K.L. BILDSTEIN. 2000. Raptor watch: a Lodfamily proVidedd .. a home-style atmosphere at the Gauchan I bal di f ... B. dT:" I N d d N al ,., al g 0 rectory 0 raptor mlgranon sites. lr e n- ge unng our stay m au an a, ep. ..e so ... gratefully acknowledge the many kind gestures of friend- ternanonal, Cambridge, V.K.; and Hawk MountaIn ship shown to us by local teacher,S. Gurung, and his son, Sanctuary, Kempton, PA V.S.A. Sumit, in Khare. Those wishing to visit and stay at the site can contact Mr. Gurung at Balmandir English School, Received 3 March 2000; accepted 26 October 2000