How Fast Does the Steppe Eagle Population Decline?: Survey Results from Eilat, Israel

Abstract

In the years 2014 to 2018 the average Steppe Eagle passage was 15039 per year. The standard deviance was 1656.8 which highlight the high effectiveness of the counting method. In the years of 1977 to 1988 (5 survey years) an average passage of 18821 Steppe Eagles was counted, with a standard deviance of 4478. In the years of 2014 to 2018, 95% of the eagles passed between the 10th of February and the 31st of March. Furthermore, 50% passed between the 23rd of February and the 6th of March and 33% between the 1st and 7th of March. When we compare the results of the survey done in the 70’s – 80’s and the recent survey results we can see a decline in the Steppe Eagle passage in Eilat of 20.1% (approximately 30 years).

Keywords

• birds of prey
• steppe eagle
• aquila nipalensis