Djibouti - six years on 
Geoff and Hilary Welch 
Since March 1984, we have made six visits to Djibouti, ranging from 
two weeks to two months, carrying out survey work on the country's 
wildlife. Our initial interest in the country was to search for migration, 
especially of raptors, across the Bab-el Mandeb straits - at 22 km the 
narrowest point on the Red Sea. From maps, it appeared that the birds 
migrating south through the Arabian peninsula would be channelled 
towards the straits and hence into Djibouti; this was confirmed when 
counts were made in the autumns of 1985 and 1987 and totals of 80,732 
and 246,478 migrating raptors were recorded respectively. In both 
cases, the principal species were Steppe Buzzard Buteo buteo vulpinus 
and Steppe Eagles Aquila rapax, with maxima of 98,339 and 76,586. 
Both counts have covered mainly October and early November, so 
there is still a need for counts at other times (ideally from late August 
to late November), and would probably reveal in excess of 500,000 
migrant raptors. 
This is not, however, a task to be undertaken lightly. In August and 
early September, temperatures are frequently in excess of 40°C with a 
relative humidity of over 95% - there is little natural shade. 
We are becoming increasingly interested in determining the routes 
used by birds to reach Djibouti. Assuming that they originate from 
central Russia, do the birds enter Arabia through the Caucasus, 
around the top of the Persian Gulf or across the Straits of Hormuz? 
There is valuable evidence for and against each of these routes, and it 
is likely that all three are used by different populations. We are also 
interested in the less common species passing through Djibouti: 
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus - generally regarded as a scarce winter visitor 
to tropical Africa, yet over 2,000 were recorded in 1987. 
Honey Buzzard Pemis apivorus - during a light aircraft flight over the Straits 
in September 1987, cl,000 birds believed to be this species were observed. 
In the following 38 days, only 17 were recorded. Do significant numbers go 
through in earlier autumn? 
Black Kite Milvus migrans - where do they all go in autumn? Nowhere in 
the Middle East has documented an autumn movement comparable with 
the numbers recorded in spring - could Djibouti hold the answer? 
Bonelli's Eagle Hieraaetus penmtus - generally regarded as non-migratory, 
with no records from tropical Africa, the species being replaced by the 
African Hawk Eagle Hieraaetus spilogaster; yet five have now been recorded 
on migration across the Straits, and the species breeds in Djibouti. 
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