In Mongolia we are working on the development of a sustainable harvesting protocol using artificial nests to encourage the surplus non-breeding Saker Falcon population to breed. In addition this research covers studying population turnover and survival rates using DNA markers at experimental artificial nest areas. We are also studying the range use and diet of Saker Falcons in the area using GPS satellite tags in combination with mammal surveys to investigate the potential for biological control of rodents. Short expedition surveys also assess population distribution and relative breeding densities in different regions of Mongolia.

This work is undertaken in collaboration with Nyambayar Batbayar of the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center, under a research agreement with the Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environmet and Tourism.

 

Mongolian steppe habitat is nest-site limited and so a surplus population which does not breed exists. Our research has discovered that by installing suitable artificial nests the non-breeding component of the population can be encouraged to breed by providing suitable nest sites. The availability of suitable nest sites is therefore a limiting factor to the breeding density of Saker Falcons in open steppe of Mongolia.

 

 

With this in mind, the breeding Saker Falcon population could potentially be increased significantly across large areas of nest-site limited steppe habitat through the use of artificial nesting sites. In the central Mongolian steppe there is no conservation imperative to do this at present because the Saker Falcon population is still relatively abundant and the population appears to be stable. However, the Mongolian Government licenses an annual harvest of wild Sakers for the Arabic falconry market. This international trade is governed by CITES regulations. One of the challenges faced by the Mongolian Government is to ensure that this trade is ‘not detrimental to the survival of the species’ and in this regard the trade was recently subject to a Significant Trade Review.