30 Nov (Day 77)- Raptor Migration Update (Thoolakharka Nepal)
Peregrine Falcon (ssp peregrinator) Now we are towards the end of autumn migration season in Nepal. This year was certainly different than previous years because of the different weather and fluctuation on number of migrating birds. In the beginning of the season we had definitely better weather than last years because not much rain/cloud however in November we had mostly foggy days because of moist air from the south, when it strikes with the cold mountain slopes and turns into fog. Therefore we had about 75% foggy days in November. In early season we had quite diverse species of raptors including falcons, eagles, vultures, OHB, sparrowhawk and buteos. Now the species diversity is going low and we are mostly getting eagles and vultures (Himalayan Vulture and Steppe Eagle). That means the falcon, OHB and Accipiter migration is over. If we compare the data of falcon migration from previous studies, this year seems to be a bad year for those species for example it seems the number