Khare (Nepal) Raptor Migration Update 12 Nov – Day 58

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Steppe Eagle (Sub-Adult)

Mountain Hawk Eagle chased by Black Kite




After the cloudy day in 11 Nov we had different weather in the watch site. In the morning we had strong North East wind and drizzle. The wind stopped after 8:00 am however it was cold enough in the lookout. In 12 Nov we had many local raptors such as Mountain Hawk Eagle, Black Eagle, Few species of vultures were very close. The Steppe Eagle migration slowly build up after 9 am. However few of the eagles were very north for atleast couple of hours. The thick and dark cumulous cloud build up to the north after noon which pushed the stream of migrating eagles overhead. We had good number of eagles overhead and it was easy to aged the birds. After 2 pm we had light rain and migration stopped only for few minutes however it was again started quickly and the birds route changed more south. The movement was very rapid and we felt that eagles were in hurry to complete their destination. Between 2:00 to 3:00 pm almost 50% of the eagles of the days were migrating. After 3:00pm the migration stopped completely and total Steppe Eagle of the day were 512, this is the second highest count of the season. Beside Steppe Eagles we  had many migrating Himalayan Vultures, few OHB, Booted Eagle, Cinereous vulture, Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Sparrow Hawk, and single Golden Eagle.

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