Migration routes of Egyptian Vultures in Central Asia described for the first time

We are very happy to be able to share the results of our satellite tracking for the first time. The three Egyptian Vultures, Anya, Arys and Timur have undergone their first autumn migrations.

All three birds initially flew south over Turkmenistan before then taking very different routes. Timur covered more than 3,800 miles (6200km), passing through Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before settling in Yemen.  Anya crossed into Iran and moved south through Afghanistan and Pakistan before stopping to winter in northern India having flown around 1400 miles (2300km). Arys travelled approximately 930 miles (1500km), south through Afghanistan and Pakistan before also settling in northern India.

Arys: He travelled a 1,500km route from southern Uzbekistan to India. He crossed the border into Rajasthan/India on 18 September 2021, arriving to Bhadriya (60 km east of Jaisalmer). He moved to Bikaner on 25 September, to the famous carcass dump, and stayed here until 20 Oct 21. He travelled directly to New Delhi by 21 Oct. He then spent 1 month south of Delhi mainly near Faridabad and Nuh. During this time he took a 2 day trip in a loop south to Jaipur, passing directly over the city at a height of 1.5km on the 29th October. Arys arrived to Agra on the 29th December flying 600 m above the Tah Mahal.     

Anya: Anya, has a much simpler trip, although her route through the middle east took her 2,300km to reach India. She crossed into Rajasthan on 29 Sept 21. She has remained in this area, covering 100 km squared and west of Shiv and Barmer since her arrival. She sometimes crosses the border into Pakistan. She has remained a desert loving vulture. 

Timur took a very different strategy from the other too, ultimately flying 6,200 km to arrive in Yemen on November 2021. Timur made a very direct, clear migration south over the course of 7 days, where upon he “hit” the Iranian coast. He happened upon an area known to have resident Egyptian Vultures and frequented by Omani Egyptian Vultures. We thought he might remain there, but he they started to wonder east in Pakistan then returning west following the Persian Gulf coast. Perhaps he was reluctant to attempt to fly over the Strait of Hormuz. Flying over open water can be risky for inexperienced vultures. However, he continued west and finally flew far enough so he could bypass the water and he continued southwest through Iraq, Kuwait and into Saudi Arabia over the course of several weeks. These areas of the Middle East are known passage areas for Egyptian Vultures. Timur arrived in southwest Saudi Arabia and then moved into Yemen in November where he has since remained. This area is a known important passage and wintering area for Egyptian Vultures migrating from Europe and the Balkans.

These results have shown for the first time, that Egyptian Vulture populations between Europe, central Asia and Oriental Asia are connected through their wintering grounds and will share similar threats during their migration and wintering.