Migration is one of the riskiest times in a bird’s life, and sadly, many migratory species are seeing their numbers drop. One such species is the Egyptian Vulture, the only true migrant among the Old World vultures, and currently listed as Endangered. These remarkable birds come in two populations: one spread across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, and the other in central and south Asia.
Protecting migratory birds is not an easy task. They face a range of threats depending on where they are, be that where they are breeding, where they are spending the winter, or where they travel in between. For the population that moves between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, we have learned a lot about the dangers they face. But for those traveling through central Asia, there is still a huge knowledge gap.
That is why this pioneering project remains so important. Now a few years in, it is filling a crucial knowledge gap, pioneering as the first to track Egyptian Vultures in central Asia, shedding light on their movements and the threats they face. We are proud to be part of this vital work through helping to fund satellite tags, contributing to the analysis and scientific publications, and sharing updates as the project progresses. Our Conservation and Research Coordinator, Dr Jamie McKaughan, had one such opportunity to do this recently at this year’s Global Bird Fair. We caught up with him when he got back:
“It was a real privilege to speak about this project at this year’s Global Bird Fair. Before joining the Hawk Conservancy Trust, the Egyptian Vulture was not a species I knew particularly well. I had never worked with them in the field and have yet to see one in the wild. In fact, since meeting Boe, our Egyptian Vulture at the Trust with her lovely, inquisitive character and becoming involved in the project, they have quickly become a favourite of mine.
Bird Fair was a great opportunity to reflect on just how far the project has come since it began. Although we are a few years into it now, it still feels like the project is breaking new ground with work expanding further in central Asia, beyond where it started in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was an ideal starting point, as it hosts a known breeding population of Egyptian Vultures and it was also the only country in central Asia with a recently updated National Action Plan for the species. Plus, its location at the crossroads of two major bird migration flyways makes it a key area for understanding routes and risks affecting not only vultures, but many other migratory birds.
Since the project launched in 2021, work has expanded into neighbouring countries like Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, and this year’s field season excitingly, made further steps. Tagging reached new ground with two Egyptian Vultures tagged in Kyrgyzstan this July, while another three were tagged at nest sites in Uzbekistan’s central deserts area. Vlad and the field team were also kept busy conducting congregation counts at dump sites and continuing the search for additional nest locations.
Of course, tracking wildlife in the wild and conservation efforts in general comes with many ups and downs. In the last few months, we have lost signals from several tagged birds. At least one has been confirmed as a fatality, though the cause remains unknown. For the others, we are still hoping they have simply moved into areas with poor signal coverage, but realistically, we are preparing ourselves for the likelihood of more losses. Battery levels were strong when they disappeared, so unfortunately the signs are not particularly encouraging.
Despite these setbacks, they highlight just how important this work is and how incredibly valuable the data we are gathering is. Right now, there are 17 tags transmitting from across our central Asia study area, the majority of which were tagged in Uzbekistan. Early data has already shown that most of the birds we are tracking spend the non-breeding season in India, while others head to the Middle East. Work is already underway on a publication exploring these trends. We will want to tag many more birds to ensure these patterns are accurate and not a result of sampling bias, or the locations we are tagging the birds, or some other factor. Any donations to help us will always be gratefully received!!
Although I have not had the chance (yet!) to join the team in the field, I am really proud to be contributing from afar helping with data analysis, supporting publications, and sharing these stories and project progress with others at events like the Global Bird Fair. It was a great event to speak about the project at, with many like-minded people coming together, it really helped reinvigorate the soul to keep going with trying to make the world a more nature and wildlife-friendly place as much as possible, or at least it certainly did for me! There was a great positive energy and it was great that the Trust were able to have a stall for the full three days of the event, enabling people to come and talk more about not only the Central Asian Vulture Project, but so much more of the work the Trust does, both in the field locally and internationally, but also at the Visitor Centre, spreading the importance of conserving birds of prey and their habitats. I look forward to the next opportunity to speak about this fantastic project and these stunning birds!
Just finally, back on the subject of vultures… Something I learnt from Vlad, which I absolutely love, is that in the Balkans, Egyptian Vultures are seen as a symbol of spring, often being referred to as the ‘Horse of the cuckoo’, where the cuckoos ride in on Egyptian Vultures to bring spring with them. I think that is both a very cool and poetic image, while perhaps also profoundly reflecting what vultures can do – clearing away what once lived to make room for new life, just like spring itself. Hopefully our work can help that continue long into the future.”
