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Migration and wintering areas of adult Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) breeding in Spain

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Abstract

Between 2006 and 2008, 14 Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) were tagged with satellite transmitters at their breeding grounds in NE Spain, recording a total of 18 autumn and 10 spring journeys. In both autumn and spring migrations, harriers migrated between Europe and West Africa along a relatively narrow corridor between the coast of Morocco and Western Sahara and the western border of Algeria. Birds tended to follow a slightly more westerly track during spring migration compared to autumn migration. Harriers started autumn migration in late August–early September, arriving at their wintering grounds in early–mid-September, after travelling between 8 and 25 days, and covering a mean of 187 km a day. Spring migration started in mid-March, with birds arriving at the breeding grounds in mid-April after covering a mean of 114 km a day. On average, spring migration lasted longer, with birds covering longer distances than during autumn migration, and distances travelled in a day tended to be shorter. Significant differences in the routes followed by harriers were observed among seasons and individuals, with the same individuals following different routes in different years. Wintering areas were located in northern Senegal and the southern border of Mauritania with Mali, with some birds breeding in the same colony in Europe separated more than 1,200 km during the wintering season. Birds showed a relatively high fidelity to their wintering areas. Several birds moved from one area to another during the wintering period, which resulted in larger wintering areas, whereas others remained in the same area during the whole wintering season.

Zusammenfassung

Zwischen 2006 und 2008 wurden 14 Wiesenweihen (Circus pygargus) in ihren Brutgebieten in Nordostspanien mit Satellitensendern versehen und insgesamt 18 Herbst- und zehn Frühjahrszugwege aufgezeichnet. Sowohl auf dem Herbst- als auch auf dem Frühjahrszug zogen die Weihen zwischen Europa und Westafrika in einem relativ engen Korridor zwischen der Küste Marokkos und der westlichen Sahara und der Westgrenze von Algerien. Die Vögel tendierten dazu, auf dem Frühjahrszug einem etwas westlicheren Kurs verglichen mit dem Herbstzug zu folgen. Die Weihen begannen mit dem Herbstzug Ende August bis Anfang September und kamen in ihren Überwinterungsgebieten Anfang bis Mitte September an, nachdem sie zwischen acht und 25 Tage geflogen waren und im Mittel 187 km pro Tag zurückgelegt hatten. Der Frühjahrszug setzte Mitte März ein, und die Vögel trafen Mitte April in ihren Brutgebieten ein, wobei sie im Mittel 114 km pro Tag flogen. Der Frühjahrszug dauerte im Durchschnitt länger als der Herbstzug, die Vögel legten größere Entfernungen zurück, und die an einem Tag zurückgelegte Entfernung war tendenziell kürzer. Zwischen verschiedenen Saisons und Individuen wurden signifikante Unterschiede in den von den Weihen geflogenen Routen beobachtet, und dieselben Tiere nutzten verschiedene Routen in verschiedenen Jahren. Die Überwinterungsgebiete lagen in Nordsenegal und an der Südgrenze Mauretaniens zu Mali. Einige Vögel, die in Europa in derselben Kolonie brüteten, überwinterten mehr als 1,200 km voneinander entfernt. Die Weihen zeigten eine relativ ausgeprägte Treue zu ihren Überwinterungsgebieten. Einige Vögel zogen während der Überwinterungsperiode von einem Gebiet zu einem anderen, was in insgesamt größeren Überwinterungsgebieten resultierte, wohingegen andere während der gesamten Wintersaison im selben Gebiet blieben.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Aeropuerto de Castellón for supporting and funding the project on the study of the ecology of Montagu’s Harrier in Castellón. We are grateful to Servicio de Biodiversidad from Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Agua, Urbanismo y Vivienda (Generalitat Valenciana) for giving trapping and tagging permissions, and special thanks are due to Juan Jiménez and Martín Surroca. We are grateful to Pascual López, Ugo Mellone and Diego Pavón for their help in trapping and tagging the harriers, as well as for their comments on an early draft on the manuscript; Pascual López also helped to draw the final version of the migration maps. F. Sergio, A. Tanferna, V. Bretagnolle and H. Mouritsen also provided insightful comments on an early draft of the manuscript. R.L. has a postdoctoral grant (reference 10/12-C) co-funded by Consejería de Educación y Ciencia (Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha) and the European Social Fund. The present work complies with the current laws in Spain.

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Correspondence to Ruben Limiñana.

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Communicated by H. Mouritsen.

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Limiñana, R., Soutullo, A., Urios, V. et al. Migration and wintering areas of adult Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) breeding in Spain. J Ornithol 153, 85–93 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0698-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0698-x

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