Differential wintering area selection in Eurasian Marsh Harrier (<i>Circus aeruginosus</i>): a ringing recoveries analysis

Panuccio, Michele; Mellone, Ugo; Muner, Lisa

doi:10.1080/00063657.2012.753399

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…but were similar to the altitudes recorded in spring at the same location (315 m a.g.l., Spaar and Bruderer 1997). In this regard, it is interesting to note that the mean maximum temperature recorded in September at our radar station was 23.1 ± 1 °C and was very similar to that reported for the Arava Valley (Israel) in March Agostini et al 2003) and over the islands of Malta (in 2002; Agostini et al 2003) and Antikhytira (in 2009;Panuccio et al 2013b) (25 °C), the spring peak period of the Western Marsh Harrier, but quite lower than that reported there in September, the autumn peak period (35 °C; Shirihai et al 2000;Goldreich and Karni 2001). Therefore, flight altitude may be primarily dictated by ambient temperature that could strongly affect the development of thermals that are used by migrating Western Marsh Harriers during soaring flight.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

“…5), possibly because significant numbers of adult females winter in Sicily (Agostini and Logozzo 2000;Panuccio et al 2005). Similarly, a higher proportion of adult females and juveniles was reported in northern Greece rather than in southern Greece during autumn migration (Panuccio et al 2013b). The stronger tendency of male Western Marsh Harriers to migrate over longer distances has been related by some authors to their smaller body size and the need to avoid intraspecific sex competition (Agostini and Logozzo 2000;Panuccio et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since thermals are very weak over water, at least in temperate zones, sea crossing implies a long powered flight with considerable expenditure of energy (Kerlinger 1989). Yet, harriers have morphology and size allowing them to use this flight style for a long duration (Spaar and Bruderer 1997;Panuccio et al 2013b;Agostini et al 2015). During both spring and autumn, large numbers of Western Marsh Harriers move through the Central Mediterranean flyway where substantial concentrations have been reported at several watchsites, peaking in late March/early April and in September, respectively (Agostini and Panuccio 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Migration of the Western Marsh Harrier to the African wintering quarters along the Central Mediterranean flyway: a 5-year study

Agostini¹,

Panuccio

Pastorino³

et al. 2017

Avian Res

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Background:The Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) is a partial migrant with the populations from Eastern and Northern Europe migrating south to sub-Saharan Africa. During the autumn migration, that is peaking in September, harriers move on a broad front heading SW and undertake long sea-crossings en route to their wintering quarters, passing in substantial numbers through Italy and Malta with the highest concentrations recorded at the Strait of Messina. Most of the individuals migrating across the Strait are heading for the wintering quarters in Africa, while fewer spend the winter in Sicily. Methods:In a 5-year study (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015), between 26 August and 30 September, we determined age and sex of autumn migrating harriers through this flyway. In 2014 we determined, by marine radar and optical range finder, the flight altitude of migrating harriers.Results: A total of 10,261 Western Marsh Harriers were counted during the whole study, with an average of 2052 per autumn season. Adults outnumbered juveniles and males outnumbered females. Harriers flew at lower altitudes during the morning while large flocks flew lower than single birds or small flocks. Conclusions:Our observations are consistent with previous surveys and confirm that adult males have a tendency to migrate over a long distance, while substantial numbers of adult females and juveniles do not head for the wintering quarters in Africa. Finally, flight patterns recorded can be explained by a more pronounced flapping flight of Western Marsh Harriers during migration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Migration of the Western Marsh Harrier to the African wintering quarters along the Central Mediterranean flyway: a 5-year study

Agostini¹,

Panuccio

Pastorino³

et al. 2017

Avian Res

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“…We suspect this is due to partial migration in these species, whereby short‐distance migrant individuals of both age groups migrate later than long‐distance migrants (Panuccio et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Accounting for differential migration strategies between age groups to monitor raptor population dynamics in the eastern Black Sea flyway

Vansteelant¹,

Wehrmann²,

Engelen³

et al. 2019

Ibis

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Migration counts can offer a cost‐effective method for monitoring the state of migrant raptor populations. However, differential migration strategies between inexperienced juveniles and experienced non‐juveniles are rarely accounted for when inferring population trends from raptor migration counts. Since 2011, the Batumi Raptor Count (BRC) monitors the autumn migration of more than 1 million raptors along the eastern Black Sea coast in the Republic of Georgia. We also systematically sampled age information to assess differential migration timing between age groups and estimate age‐specific linear trends in abundance between 2011 and 2018 for eight focal species. In so doing we aimed (1) to reassess the global relevance of BRC counts for each species and the potential for monitoring abundance of juveniles and non‐juveniles, and (2) to identify demographic changes underlying recent trends in overall abundance. We found that the mean annual passage of non‐juveniles at Batumi represents at least 1% of the estimated global breeding population of five study species. As expected, counts of juveniles were more variable than counts of non‐juveniles. Yet despite our short monitoring period our models had sufficient statistical power to detect changes in abundance of 10%/year or less for at least one age group in all species except Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus. Our results indicate stable abundance and demography for half of the study species. We also found strong and significant increases in the abundance of Black Kites Milvis migrans and Short‐toed Eagles Circaetus gallicus that were primarily due to increasing numbers of non‐juveniles. By contrast, juvenile Montagu's Harriers Circus pygargus and Booted Eagles Hieraaetus pennatus significantly decreased in abundance. The first decade of BRC surveys offers an important benchmark for monitoring raptor populations using the eastern African–Palearctic flyway in the 21st century. We discuss possible causes of the observed trends and hope our work will stimulate demographic monitoring at migration count sites.

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“…McKinnon et al 2014). Traditional mark-recapture techniques therefore provide a complementary method for studying migratory movements (Reichlin et al 2008;Panuccio et al 2013). In particular, ring recoveries provide a good opportunity to study juvenile movements (Thorup et al 2003a) and causes and rates of mortality (McCulloch et al 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the migration of the European Roller from ring recoveries

et al. 2016

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Despite recent advances in avian tracking technology, archival devices still present several limitations. Traditional ring recoveries provide a complementary method for studying migratory movements, particularly for cohorts of birds with a low return rate to the breeding site. Here we provide the first international analysis of ring recovery data in the European Roller Coracias garrulus, a long-distance migrant of conservation concern. Our data comprise 58 records of Rollers ringed during the breeding season and recovered during the non-breeding season. Most records come from Eastern Europe, half are of juveniles and over three quarters are of dead birds. Thus, ring recoveries provide migration data for cohorts of Rollers-juveniles and unsuccessful migrants-for which no information currently exists, complementing recent tracking studies. Qualitatively, our results are consistent with direct tracking studies, illustrating a broad-front migration across the Mediterranean Basin in autumn and the use of the Arabian Peninsula by Rollers from eastern populations in spring. Autumn movements were, on average, in a more southerly direction for juveniles than adults, which were more easterly. Juvenile autumn recovery direction also appeared to be more variable than in adults, though this difference was not statistically significant. This is consistent with juveniles following a naïve vector-based orientation program, and perhaps explains the 'moderate' migratory connectivity previously described for the Roller. In the first (qualitative) analysis of Roller non-breeding season mortality, we highlight the high prevalence of shooting. The recovery age ratio was juvenilebiased in autumn but adult-biased in spring. Although not statistically significant, this difference points towards a higher non-breeding season mortality of juveniles than adults. Our study demonstrates the complementarity of ring recoveries to direct tracking, providing an insight into the migration of juvenile Rollers and non-breeding season mortality.

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Differential wintering area selection in Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus): a ringing recoveries analysis

Cited by 18 publications

References 21 publications

Migration of the Western Marsh Harrier to the African wintering quarters along the Central Mediterranean flyway: a 5-year study

Migration of the Western Marsh Harrier to the African wintering quarters along the Central Mediterranean flyway: a 5-year study

Accounting for differential migration strategies between age groups to monitor raptor population dynamics in the eastern Black Sea flyway

Insights into the migration of the European Roller from ring recoveries

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