Steppe buzzard travels 6,000 kilometers through 14 countries including Saudi Arabia and Yemen

A steppe buzzard named Ender, fitted with a satellite tracking device in Türkiye’s eastern Iğdır province, traveled about 6,000 kilometers over five months through 14 countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, before reaching Ethiopia.

A steppe buzzard named Ender traveled about 6,000 kilometers over nearly five months after researchers in Türkiye fitted it with a satellite tracking device. The bird was released on May 14 from the Aras Bird Research and Education Center in Iğdır province, which is operated by the KuzeyDoğa Association with the authorization of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks.

Ender headed north through the Caucasus region and settled in the Russian city of Makhachkala on June 18, where it spent the summer. With the arrival of autumn, it began its migration to its wintering grounds on September 20 and reached Ethiopia on October 9.

Steppe buzzard

During 148 days of tracking, the bird covered 6,041 kilometers, reaching a top speed of 102 kilometers per hour and a maximum altitude of 4,515 meters. It crossed a desert region in six days, flying continuously for 13 hours on one of them and covering 478 kilometers without stopping.

The center’s team said the bird, which weighs 470 grams, was fitted with a device weighing 6 grams. It crossed Türkiye, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Eritrea, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia, and the team said it would continue monitoring its journey and return trip.