The sooty falcon (Falco concolor) is a little-known, medium-sized falcon, breeding in the Middle East and north eastern Africa. This species has been uplisted to Near Threatened owing to concerns that its population may be much smaller than previously thought, and in decline. Detailed surveys and robust monitoring are much desired, and would lead to a clarification of its status. The lack of knowledge about its ecology, its status and its distribution in its breeding/wintering range currently undermine any proper conservation measure.

The project intends to survey the breeding population of Sooty Falcons along the Egyptian Red Sea shore. The team will visit all known colony sites along the Egypt Red Sea coast in October-November 2009 to assess the occupancy and the number of breeding pairs in individual colonies. There are at least 130 different islands and coastal cliffs with prominent rocks suitable for breeding in the region. Searching for breeding pairs or colonies is a time consuming process, involving a survey of at least 570 km shoreline. During the survey, the known (and supposed) breeding colonies of the species will be visited, collecting data upon breeding population, nest site selection, threat factors, nesting ecology and fledging success. The local recruitment rate and mortality will be studied using colour ringing of the nestlings at selected colonies. To assess the threats along the migratory route and at wintering areas, a geolocator tracking survey is planned.

A number of 30 birds will be marked with geolocators. These are tiny (1.5g) recording devices, attached to the birds (will be attached to the metal rings). The geolocator measures time and intensity of sunlight and saves the data for periods longer than one year. The travels and whereabouts of migrant birds can thus be reconstructed once the data have been downloaded from the device. This will result in exact location and proper assessment of an important breeding population and its migratory routes and wintering areas. The project intends to be a starting point for a long term monitoring of the species and its habitats by providing training and motivation to local conservationists. By doing so, we will complete our knowledge upon an important part of the species range and ecology, thus contributing to the overall conservation of a globally threatened small falcon species.

We suppose to collect information about the population and exact location of most breeding colony sites along the Egypt Red Sea coast. Moreover, the collected information on breeding ecology and population dynamics will provide a necessary background to prepare species conservation measures. The geolocator tracking survey will provide data on migratory routes, indicating the wintering sites thus revealing the exact location to concentrate further conservation actions away from breeding sites.