Breeding Status of Ospreys in Egypt (Red Sea) from 2012 to 2018

Abstract

A new series of Osprey surveys started in early June 2012 and ended in July 2018. The main goal was to survey the local resident breeding Ospreys Pandion haliaetus haliaetus. I also visited the three wintering areas Malaha, Aswan and Lake Nasser. We found breeding and nesting Ospreys in most of the visited Islands at the Red Sea, with nests placed mostly on sand dunes but also on roof tops. A total of only 40 pairs were confirmed breeding in the Red Sea and South Sinai provinces and 16 non-local Osprey were observed at the wintering sites which make Egypt important as a stopover area for Osprey during Spring and Autumn migration. The breeding season of the Osprey in the Red Sea starts from the first week of December in the south of Egypt to the first week of January in the north of Egypt. Osprey’s diet consists entirely of fish and their mainly forage at reef flats and reef edges. Birds from the resident Red Sea population tends to be distinctly smaller and lighter in plumage than birds from the European population. The main threat to the breeding population is human disturbance on the Red Sea coasts and islands. A further artificial nests project at Red Sea Coast is highly recommended to replace the lost nests because of tourism development and increase the Egyptian population to the previous level.

Keywords

• birds of prey
• raptors
• osprey
• pandion haliaetus
• egypt