At least seventeen
Greater Spotted Eagles Clanga clanga were recorded at a
wetland site near Jubail on 20 November 2015, the highest single day count for
the site. Since this time numbers have decreased but there are still at least
eight and probably more Greater Spotted Eagles remaining for the winter. Birds
winter at a number of sites in Saudi Arabia with the Jubail area the best for
the species in the Eastern province. In winter birds are almost always near
wetland areas with large areas where they can hunt undisturbed. They occupy a fragmented range, breeding
mainly in Estonia, Poland, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
mainland China and Mongolia. Passage or wintering birds occur in small numbers
over a vast area, including central and eastern Europe, North Africa, East
Africa, the Middle East, the Arabian peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent, south
Asia and South-East Asia. The Greater Spotted Eagle is suspected to have
undergone at least a moderately rapid decline over the last three generations
as a result of habitat loss and degradation throughout its breeding and
wintering ranges, together with the effects of disturbance, persecution and
competition with other predators. The species
is listed on the Red Data list as Vulnerable as the species is facing a high risk of extinction in the
wild in the medium-term future.
