Migratory and wintering behaviour of the Red Kite Milvus milvus in Thuringia (Germany) as revealed by satellite telemetry

In den Jahren 2002 bis 2005 wurden in Thüringen zwei Jungvögel und sieben Altvögel mit Solar-Satelliten- Telemetriesendern markiert, die bis Ende 2008 2686 Ortungen auf der Basis des Dopplereffektes ermöglichten. Die Genauigkeit der meisten Ortungen war nicht sehr groß, jedoch für Untersuchungen zum Zugverhalten ausreichend. Insgesamt konnten im Herbst acht Wegzüge nach Spanien und im Frühjahr vier Heimzüge ins Brutgebiet telemetriert werden. Außer bei einem Jungvogel, der bereits im August abzog und 47 Tage bis nach Spanien benötigte, lag der Zugbeginn in der ersten Oktoberhälfte. Die Ankunft im Frühjahr erfolgte vom 5. bis 12. März. Die Rotmilane überwanden auf dem Zug ins Winterquartier Entfernungen zwischen 1450 und 2320 km, wofür die Altvögel 12 bis 28 Tage benötigten. Der Frühjahrszug verlief etwas zügiger in 8 bis 22 Tagen. Ein Weibchen, das über fünf Zugperioden telemetriert werden konnte, verbrachte die ersten beiden Winter im selben Gebiet in Südwestspanien und flog in der dritten Zugperiode nur noch bis Nordspanien. Dort fand Ende Dezember ein Wechsel des Winterquartiers über 130 km statt. Im vierten Untersuchungsjahr überwinterte es im Brutgebiet. Im folgenden Jahr zog das Weibchen bereits eine Woche früher als in den ersten drei Jahren nach Westspanien ab, wo es im Dezember tot gefunden wurde. Drei Mitglieder einer Familie (Männchen und zwei Junge) zogen getrennt, und die Jungvögel suchten unterschiedliche Winterquartiere auf. Neben den Ergebnissen der Telemetrie wurden durch die individuelle Erkennbarkeit der Rotmilane anhand der PTTs weitere Erkenntnisse gewonnen. So konnte die Verdrängung eines Paares aus dem Brutgebiet durch andere Rotmilane nachgewiesen werden und ein über fünf Brutperioden kontrolliertes Weibchen hatte in dieser Zeit mindestens vier verschiedene Partner. Von den neun besenderten Vögeln kamen vermutlich sieben Tiere um, zwei Männchen und ein Weibchen im Brutgebiet, ein Männchen auf dem Zug und zwei Jungvögel und ein Weibchen im Überwinterungsgebiet. Ein Weibchen trägt derzeit (Sommer 2009) noch den Sender und hat seit der Besenderung im Alter von drei Jahren jährlich (bisher siebenmal) erfolgreich Jungvögel aufgezogen. Bei einem Altvogel wurde der Sender entfernt, als er wiedergefangen wurde.In 2002 to 2005, nine Red Kites (two juveniles and seven adults) were fitted with solar-powered satellite transmitters (PTTs) in Thuringia (Germany) which, up to the end of 2008, enabled 2686 fixes to be made by Argos using the Doppler Phenomenon. Most locations were not very precise, but are adequate for studies of migratory behaviour. In total seven autumn migrations to Spain and four return journeys to the breeding area were tracked. Apart from one juvenile, which departed as early as August and required 47 days to reach Spain, migration began in the first half of October. Arrival in spring took place between 5 and 12 March. During migration to winter quarters the birds covered distances of between 1,450 and 2,320 km, for which the adult birds required between 12 to 28 days. Spring migration, taking between 8 to 22 days, was somewhat quicker. An adult female, which was tracked over five migration periods, spent both of the first two winters in the same area in south-west Spain and, in the third migration period, only flew as far as northern Spain. At the end of December a change in winter quarters of over 130 km took place. In the fourth year of the study it spent the winter in its breeding area. In the following year (2008) the female migrated a week earlier than in the first three years to western Spain, where it was found dead in December. Three members of a family (the male and two juveniles) migrated separately and the juveniles sought out different wintering areas. In addition to the telemetry results the transmitters provided further information on the individual identification of the Red Kites. By this means the ousting of a pair from the breeding area by other Red Kites was recorded and a female, monitored over a five year period, had at least four different partners in this time. Of the nine birds fitted with transmitters, there were mortalities of seven kites, of two males and one female in the breeding area, a further male during migration and both juveniles and an adult female in winter quarters. One female is still carrying the transmitter (summer 2009) and, since the transmitter was deployed at the age of three years, has successfully raised young annually for the past seven years. The PTT of the ninth bird has been removed when it was retrapped

Satellite Tracking of Adult and Immature Eastern Imperial Eagles

Four adult males, two adult females and two immature Imperial Eagles were trapped near Taif in Saudi Arabia close to the Red Sea while wintering. Three of theses eagles were trapped up to three times. This species, like some other raptors, has a strong tendency to destroy the harness and remove transmitters. Teflon as harness material is unsuitable for them. This was confirmed by retrapped birds. The distances between the summer home ranges and the wintering areas ranged between 3,900 and 5,000 km. Our satellitetracking has revealed winter site faithfulness across years

Annual Movements of Two Steppe Eagles, and Their Use of Rubbish Dumps in Arabia During the Winter

We tracked two young Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis) that wintered in Oman during 2016–2017

Migration of a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus calidus from Saudi Arabia to Cape Town as revealed by satellite telemetry

In boreal autumn 1995, we tracked a migrating adult Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus calidus from the border of Saudi Arabia and Yemen to near Cape Town, South Africa, a distance of 6 346 km. While on migration it covered 288 km d−1, on average. During its migration in Africa it migrated faster than any other Peregrine tracked so far using satellite telemetry. Falco p. calidus is an uncommon, but regular, migrant to southern Africa, where it overlaps with the resident F. p. minor, but no other bird has been tracked so far south

Post-fledging Dependent Behaviour, Dispersion and Migration of Young Eastern Imperial Eagles from Slovakia as Revealed by Satellite Telemetry

In 2005, five nestling Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) were fitted with battery-powered GPS Satellite Transmitters (PTTs) in Slovakia to study their behaviour after fledging, two of them in the east and the other three in the west of the country. The PTTs (LC4s made by Microwave Telemetry, Inc. USA) had one of the batteries removed to reduce the weight, and weighed about 90g. A total of 598 GPS fixes were received. The number of locations varied between 45 and 244 per bird, the tracking periods between three months and one year. From a female (PTT 59281, “Stefani”), a total of 110 GPS fixes were acquired during 23 August 2005 – 26 August 2006

The Annual Cycle of German Adult Ospreys – Studies in the Breeding and Wintering Areas as Well as During Migration Since 1995 by Means of Satellite Telemetry

German Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) were thought to migrate to sub-Saharan Africa. However, most of the many ring recoveries were from juvenile birds, and adults had never been satellite-tracked. During 1995–2011 we marked 28 adult Ospreys in NE-Germany with satellite tags working up to eight years

Ranging behaviour of an adult female greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) wintering in Sudan for 10 years, as revealed by satellite telemetry

Using global position system (GPS) technology, we tracked an adult female greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga) on its wintering grounds in the Sudan-South Sudan borderland during 2005–2015. There were 10 909 GPS locations for this bird in the non-breeding range. Throughout the study, the eagle showed fidelity to its wintering grounds. The non-breeding season coincided with the dry season. The median arrival date was 11 October (n = 10). The median departure date (n = 10) was 4 March, and was less variable than the arrival date. The 95% kernel density estimate (KDE) for all years was 33 838 km2, and the 50% KDE encompassed 6 585 km2. The wintering range was split between two areas, west and east, with the eagle typically arriving in the western area, where it stayed for some time. It then moved about 330 km to the eastern area, where it would remain for a few weeks before departing for Europe in the spring. In both the western and eastern subareas, the annual home ranges overlapped to a variable extent (14–99%). The high degree of fidelity to the wintering grounds shown by this bird was mirrored by the behaviours of two other adult greater spotted eagles that we tracked (using >1 tracking devices) for 15 years that wintered in South Sudan and Turkey. The number of greater spotted eagles that winter in Africa is a matter of speculation, although virtually all individuals are likely to pass through a narrow corridor near Suez, Egypt. Collectively, these tracking data and the findings of other studies suggest that greater spotted eagles from the western parts of the European breeding range often move to Africa. Further, the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan are important for greater spotted eagles and other rare bird species during the non-breeding season