Analysis of the Spatial Migration Patterns of Adult Honey Buzzards (<i>Pernis apivorus</i>) During Spring and Autumn in the Central Mediterranean

Analysis of the Spatial Migration Patterns of Adult Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus) During Spring and Autumn in the Central Mediterranean In this paper we analyse the spatial migration patterns and the water crossing tendency of adult Honey Buzzards during spring and autumn migration in the Central Mediterranean region. In this area, during spring, these long-distance migrants wintering in western-central Equatorial Africa, concentrate crossing the sea between Africa and Europe through the Channel of Sicily, about 150 km wide, at least part of them via the islands of Pantelleria and Marettimo. When they reach western Sicily most of them fly east, along the mountain chain of northern Sicily, towards the Strait of Messina. Nevertheless, thousands of birds use a more direct route to reach the continental mainland undertaking the crossing of the Tyrrhenian Sea via Ustica and the Lipari Islands. During autumn the migration of adult Honey Buzzards is less consistent. They tend to follow the Italian Peninsula and northern Sicily reaching Africa through the Channel of Sicily while very few cross the Tyrrhenian Sea. On the contrary, during their first migration, large numbers of juveniles, moving about two weeks later than adults, cross the Central Mediterranean region on a broader front presumably along NE-SW innate axis. It is supposed that larger numbers of adult Honey Buzzards choose the central Mediterranean route during spring migration to reach earlier their breeding areas in eastcentral Europe. During post-reproductive movements most of them would circumfly the Mediterranean Sea crossing at the Strait of Gibraltar and at the Bosporus. In this picture the discovery of more direct routes between breeding and wintering areas made by juvenile birds during their first migration may have the adaptive value

Migrating raptor counts: the need for sharing objectives and field protocols, and the benefits of using radar

Capsule: Raptor migration attracts the interest for different reasons, but not all raptor counts achieve the goal of repeatability through the use of standardized field protocols, and this does not allow comparisons of data to be made across years and sites. Aims: We analysed migrating raptor count activities in Italy to verify the interest on this phenomenon by identifying organizers of such counts, and we ascertained the use of a minimum repeatable field protocol (MRFP), and the implications of using it or not. Moreover, we tested the use of radar to support field monitoring. Methods: We analysed 298 migrating raptor counts carried out between 1984 and 2016 by considering characteristics of raptor counts at migratory bottlenecks (number of years covered, use of MRFP, numbers of raptors counted, etc.). In addition, we analysed two case studies using radar to evaluate the effectiveness of raptor counts. Results: There is a growing interest in raptor migration, as well as an increasing use of a MRFP, although differences between counts emerged, probably due to the different aims of the promoting organizations. At sites not using MRFP, more raptors were counted than at other sites, probably because of a greater bias in the data collected. Radar is able to clarify the water-crossing behaviour of raptors at coastal sites, and allows the proportion of birds passing undetected by observers to be evaluated. It also provides data on the spatial density of migrants across a sample area. Conclusions: The use of MRFP is important to harmonize data collection and is necessary to allow comparisons across years and sites. Moreover, the use of radar can be recommended for optimizing raptor monitoring schemes

[On the origin of the name Girifalco, an Italian town in a hotspot of the autumn migration of soaring raptors]

In this article, a hypothesis is suggested on the origin of the name Girifalco, a small town in the Calabrian Apennines (southern continental Italy), located along an important flyway of raptors migrating through the Central Mediterranean. In particular, the name could derive from the late ancient/medieval Latin terms gyro and falco, the circling hawk, which perfectly describes the flight of migrating birds of prey passing in late summer over the town, during the exploitation of thermal currents. There, large groups of migrating birds of prey can be observed circling right above "Pietra dei Monaci", the place where the first nucleus of the modern Calabrian town arose.   [Article in Italian

SPRING MIGRATION OF HONEY BUZZARDS (PERNIS-APIVORUS) AT THE STRAITS OF MESSINA IN RELATION TO ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS

Volume: 26Start Page: 93End Page: 9

Are earlier estimates of accipitriformes crossing the Channel of Sicily (Central Mediterranean) during spring migration accurate?

Volume: 39Start Page: 184End Page: 18

Autumn migration of honey buzzards in southern Italy

Volume: 29Start Page: 275End Page: 27

Analysis of the autumn migration of juvenile Honey-buzzards (Pernis apivorus) across the Central Mediterranean

Volume: 38Start Page: 283End Page: 28