Whilst in the southwest of the
Kingdom in April, Phil Roberts and I came across a group of eight mainly second calendar year Steppe
Eagles. The birds appeared to be migrating along the escarpment edge. It is
diffuclt to know if these birds were wintering birds from the region moving
north or birds from Africa that had crossed into Arabia via the Bab El Mandib
straights in Yemen (although most do not do this in spring but move north
through Egypt and Israel. Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis is a common migrant
and winter visitor to the south-west, northern Hejaz and Central Arabia where
up to 1000 birds have been recorded in a small area. It is an uncommon winter
visitor to other regions. Birds of the Riyadh Region (Stagg 1994) states it is
a common winter visitor arriving in early September and departing in late March
with stragglers lingering into April. In earlier years mainly found in
proximity to waste disposal sites. Now with the advent of extensive farming
activity over much of the region there are fewer large concentrations and a
tendency for small groups to take up winter territories on pivot irrigated
fields. In early autumn when the ground is prepared for the sowing of winter
wheat shambling groups following the plough have been observed. In the Eastern
Province birds pass south-west from September through November regular from
October through March on the northern plains from Nayriyyah westwards to
Dibdibah and south to around Hanidh. Once over 60 on the steppe area and in October
1984 there were 66 at Haradh. Elsewhere scarce and irregular. Wintering birds
in the Eastern Province are almost always dark sub-adults. In April a small
passage has been noted across the northern steppe consisting of predominantly
pale first-year birds. Winters to the west in good numbers around Riyadh,
Al-Kharj and the plains of the north-central Najd.
