Viv Wilson sent me an e-mail saying
he had seen Hundreds of eagles along the road to Jordan, and mentioned he had
never seen so many there before. Viv also said how glorious it was to see and
watch so many, including one that was quite friendly that allowed close
contact. This is very good news as Steppe Eagle has just been reclassified as
Endangered as it has undergone extremely rapid population decline within its
European range. The majority of its range lies outside Europe where it was not
thought to be declining at a sufficiently rapid rate to approach the threshold
for Vulnerable. However recent information suggests that the population outside
Europe may be exposed to greater threats than was previously thought and has
also undergone very rapid recent declines across much of the range. It has
therefore been classified as Endangered. The population is declining owing to
habitat destruction (especially conversion of steppe into agricultural land),
persecution, and collisions with power lines. Locally populations are declining
owing to heavy predation of chicks. In Europe the population size is estimated
to be decreasing by 80% or more in 49.8 years (three generations) however the
European population represents only a small proportion of the global
population. Combined totals from across the species range suggest a decline of
58.6% between 1997-2011 and 2013-2015. I thank Viv for sending me and allowing
me to use two of his photos that are shown below.
