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# 77
BIRDS
AND ARGOS
a worldwide journey
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11/2013 #77 2 3
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© François SABATHE © Christine Groom
© Evan Buechley
CONTENTS
BIRDS AND ARGOS, a worldwide journey
By Keith L. Bildstein, Marc Bechard
and David R. Barber / Hawk
Mountain Sanctuary
UNDERSTANDING
MOVEMENTS OF
AVIAN SCAVENGERS
ON BOTH SIDES
OF THE EQUATOR
By Christine Groom / University of Western
Australia and Western Australian Department
of Parks and Wildlife
TRACKING
CARNABY’S
COCKATOOS
in Western AustrAliA
By Vincenzo Penteriani (EBD-CSIC), María del
Mar Delgado, Jari Valkama and Pertti Saurola
(Helsinki University)
A EUROPEAN SCALE PROJECT
By ByBy
Neil & Liz Baker / TAWIRI
(Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute)
Noriyuki Yamaguchi / Université
de Nagasaki, Japan
Valérie Cohou / GIFS
ARGO S Forum is published by CLS (www.cls.fr) ISSN: 1638 -315x – Publication Director: Christophe Vassal – Editorial Directors: Marie-Claire Demmou; Anne-Marie Bréonce; Bill Woodward -
Editor-in-Chief: Marianna Childress mchildress@cls.fr - Camille Buzy cbuzy@cls.fr – Contributors to this issue - Yatomi Hidefumi argos@cubic-i.co.jp
Aline Duplaa aduplaa@cls.fr - Garance Weller gweller@cls.fr – Yann Bernard ybernard@cls.com - Debbie Stakem debbie@clsamerica.com
Design: Couleur Citron – Printing: INDIKA ImprimVert certified ISO 14001 - Printed on recycled paper
STUDYING
MARABOU STORKS CROSS OR GO AROUND
THE SEA– THE EFFECT OF
WEATHER CONDITIONS
ON THE MIGRATORY
STRATEGY OF ORIENTAL
HONEY BUZZARDS
SPATIO-TEMPORAL
TRACKING OF
COMMON WOOD
PIGEONS
AROUND THE LAKE
VICTORIA BASIN
IN EAST ASIA
IN EUROPE
The most exciting message about using the ARGOS satellite network
to track bird migration is that migratory birds connect not only nature
but also people in different countries along the migration routes.
Each autumn and spring, migratory birds visit stop-over areas along
their migration routes. These unique ecosystems are far away from
each other, but are linked by the birds. In addition, migratory birds
also link people along the routes. Each day during the migration
season, hundreds or thousands of people watch migrating birds at
different sites, near mountains, capes or islands. These people include
not only keen bird watchers but many members of the general public
as well, who while they may not be able to identify different bird
species do enjoy watching them and imagining their long journey
during migration. All these people living in different countries share
the same experience along the migration routes, which have been
identified by tracking the birds via the ARGOS satellite system.
From Autumn 2012 to Summer 2013, our research team invited the
general public to watch the satellite-tracking via ARGOS of migrating
Oriental Honey-Buzzards (Pernis ptilorhynchus) on a Keio University
SFC (Shonan Fujisawa Campus) web-site. The site automatically
displayed the migration process with only a slight offset in time,
while also providing ecological and geographical information. Tens
of thousands of people enjoyed watching the migration routes
being displayed and exchanged information in various ways. This
outreach project linked people in Japan, Korea, China, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and many other East Asian countries.
Westerners living in England, Germany and the USA also joined in.
Next year, from 18-24 August 2014, the International Ornithological
Congress will be held in Tokyo, Japan (http://ioc26.jp/) with the
participation of more than 1,000 ornithologists. During the congress,
many scientists who are studying migration patterns will be delivering
presentations of their work.
It will be a unique opportunity to share information and deepen
friendships.
By Hiroyoshi Higuchi
Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, Project Professor at Keio University
ZOOM ON :
TRACKING EGYPTIAN
VULTURES IN THE MIDDLE
EAST
NORTHSTAR GRANT
PROGRAM :
PRESENTATION OF THE WINNING
PROJECTS
ARGOS-3 HD:
JPEG IMAGES TRASMISSION
IN ADDITION TO
METEOROLOGICAL DATA
GONIOMETER RXG-134:
TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR
PLATFORM EQUIPPED WITH AN
ARGOS TRANSMITTER
All ARGOS publications are available at:
www.argos-system.org
NATAL DISPERSAL
OF EAGLE OWLS
#77 11/ 20 13
11/2013 #77 4 5
Fig. 1:
Wing-tagged Turkey Vulture flying in the Falkland Islands. (Photo by Alan Henry.)
4
The curious nature of Turkey Vulture
migration
With a range of more than 100 degrees of latitude stretching
from Canada to Tierra del Fuego in the New World, Turkey
Vultures rank as the world’s most common and widespread
avian scavenger.
Method used
During the past decade we and our colleagues have
used satellite tracking to monitor the movements of
30 individuals breeding in three countries, Canada, the
United States, and Argentina. At the beginning of our
work in 2003 it was believed that vultures breeding in
and around Pennsylvania, USA overwintered mainly in the
southeastern US, including peninsular Florida. And indeed
half of the twelve birds we have tracked by satellite from
east-central Pennsylvania have followed that pattern.
The other half, however, remained much farther north,
overwintering in southeastern Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and southern New Jersey. Intriguingly several of the birds
that traveled the farthest from Pennsylvania weighed the
most when they were trapped and fitted with PPTs prior
to their movements. Recent tracks of eight adults breeding
in abandoned farmhouses in south-central Saskatchewan
demonstrate that breeders from that population migrate
more than 7000 kilometers one-way to overwintering areas
in northern Venezuela; and that three birds breeding in the
Pacific Northwest travel about 3000 kilometers one way to
overwinter in Mexico and Guatemala. More recently 400
Turkey Vultures wing tagged on their wintering grounds in
northwestern Venezuela were later re-sighted in the interior
of North America as far south a Texas and as far north as
Alberta and Ontario, Canada, confirming the representative
nature of the breeders we had tracked by satellite from
Saskatchewan. In addition, observations at visible migration
at raptor-migration watchsites indicate that more than two
million Turkey Vultures moving south along the coastal
plain of Veracruz, Mexico in early autumn, and more than
a million individuals migrating through southern Costa
Rica and central Panama later in autumn, suggesting that
intercontinental vulture “conga-line” between North
and Southern America represents the most spectacular
long-distance movement of avian scavengers on the planet.
That Turkey Vultures manage to do so without regularly
feeding en route is testimony to the species exceptionally
efficient soaring flight during migration.
Although most of the vultures that we have tracked, which
include several individuals followed for more than five
years, have been relatively faithful to their migration tracks
and wintering areas, one vulture tracked from the Pacific
Northwest spent the first half of one winter in southern-
most Baja Mexico, before reversing course north back into
California and then turning sharply south and spending the
remaining half of the winter in central Guatemala.
The new frontier of South American
vulture movements
Although satellite tracks of North American breeders
have largely confirmed and quantified the movements of
Northern Hemisphere breeders, our more recent tracks of
their South Hemisphere counterparts are now providing
important new information on the “Black Box” of South
American migration in the species. To date, we have placed
a total of six units on individuals breeding in and around
the pampas of central Argentina. Although ornithologists
knew that these birds left the region in Austral or southern
autumn and returned again in southern spring, they had
no idea where the birds overwintered each year. Having
studied the movements of these birds for up to three years
via satellite tracking we now know that vultures breeding
Turkey
Vultures
the most common and widespread of all avian
scavengers, have a complicated, series of
site-specific migration systems the unders-
tandings of which have alluded traditional
scientific study for decades. Like many birds
of prey the species is a facultative, or partial
migrant in which individuals in some parts of
the species range migrate, whereas in other
areas they do not. Unfortunately our unders-
tanding of the movement ecology of Turkey
Vultures has been hampered by an interna-
tional ban on traditional leg banding in the
species resulting from the species’ habit of
urinating on its legs, and the possibility that
accumulated urine on leg bands could hobble
and otherwise impair individuals. Wing tag-
ging and, most recently, satellite tracking
throughout the Americas, are now revealing
the complex and flexible nature of the spe-
cies’ migration behavior, which may explain
the species’ widespread distribution both
north and south of the Equator.
USER PROGRAM
UNDERSTANDING
MOVEMENTS
OF AVIAN
SCAVENGERS
ON BOTH SIDES
OF THE EQUATOR
By Keith L. Bildstein, Marc Bechard and David R. Barber / Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
in the region travel an average 2700 kilometers north
each autumn and over winter principally in central Bolivia
and south central Brazil and that their outbound travels
in southern autumn take about 24 days to complete, and
that their return travels in spring take about 14 days. This
compares with 32 days in autumn and 16 days in spring
for our Northern Hemisphere East Coast migrants, which are
migrating only about half as far. Migration in the Southern
Hemisphere then is both similar and different to that in the
Northern Hemisphere, most likely due to local differences in
the seasonal availability of carrion. Although not especially
surprising, this new information helps us better understand
the movement ecology for this wide ranging species, and
provides conservationists with critical information on the
sizes and locations of the ecological neighborhoods of the
populations involved. Still to be discovered is the extent to
which tropical Turkey Vultures in northern South America
migrate, as well as to extent to which subtropical populations
northern coastal Chile, which hosts the densest population of
Turkey Vultures anywhere, migrate seasonally.
Overall our satellite tracking efforts with Turkey vultures
demonstrate two things. First, the same general rules of
avian migration apply to this species north and south of
the equator. And second, satellite-tracking technology is
an effective method for discovering the movements of this
species both north and south of the Equator. With this in
mind, our plan is to place additional tracking units on Turkey
Vultures elsewhere in South America as soon as possible.
Fitting a tracking unit on a vulture in Argentina.
Migration tracks of 24 Turkey Vultures in North America, 2003-2012. Migration tracks of 6 Turkey Vultures in South America, 2009-2012.
Wing-tagged Turkey Vulture perched in a Kansas backyard.
Dr. Marc Bechard is Distinguished Professor of Biology at Boise State University, where he directs graduate students
in the Raptor Biology Master Degree Program. Both he and Bildstein have studied the movement ecology of Turkey
Vultures in nine countries including 16 states in the US.
Dr. Marc Bechard
Dr. Keith L. Bildstein is Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Orwigsburg,
PA, where he oversees an international training program for young raptors conservationists, directs graduate
students, and is responsible for the Sanctuary’s programs in Conservation Science.
Dr. Keith L. Bildstein
David R. Barber is a Research Biologist and GIS specialist at the Acopian Center for Conservation Learning at Hawk
Mountain Sanctuary, where he co-coordinates research on Turkey vulture movements and manages the Sanctuary’s
databases including its accumulating satellite tracking data sets.
David R. Barber
Fig. 1:
“Pink Z” perched on Canna lilies in a Perth garden. © Christine Groom
Carnaby’s
cockatoo
(Calyptorhynchus latirostris) is an
endangered species found only in the
south-west of Western Australia. It is
a large black parrot that migrates from
inland areas after the breeding season to
more coastal areas in the non-breeding
season. During the non-breeding season
it is often seen in the inner suburbs of
Western Australia’s capital city, Perth
(population about 1.8 million). It is quite
unusual for an endangered species to be
so readily observed.
USER PROGRAM
TRACKING
CARNABY’S
COCKATOOS
IN WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
By Christine Groom (University of Western Australia and Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife)
76
The satellite tracking device attached to the underside of the two central tail feathers of study bird ‘Pink B’
Carnaby’s cockatoos opportunistically drink water from puddles on roads which put them in danger of being struck by vehicles.
‘Green R’ is perched on the bollard to the right.
Fig.1 Movements of 11 Carnaby’s cockatoos fitted with tracking
devices in 2012
How do they persist in such an urbanized environment? Where
do they roost at night, how far do they travel to forage each
day? Such spatial information on movements is fundamental to
understanding the ecology of a species and for implementing
conservation measures. A PhD project through the University
of Western Australia began in 2012 to study the movements of
Carnaby’s cockatoos in the urban landscape of Perth.
Methods and tools used
Carnaby’s cockatoo posed quite a challenge to design and
attach a suitable tracking device. They have a powerful beak
and are well known for their fondness for chewing. After
much research into options, modified Telonics TAV 2617 units
were selected and, with some trepidation with regard to the
investment being set free, the first release of 11 study birds
occurred in May 2012.
Thankfully most study birds have totally ignored their scientific
burden. Of the first release, only one tracking device failed
prematurely (unknown cause but probably chewed) and most
exceeded their expected battery life of three to four months
with one lasting more than nine months. The success has been
attributed to the combination of fitting the 17g tracking device,
under general anesthetic, to the underside of their two central
tail feathers close to the body.
This initial release of study birds demonstrated their ability
to move long distances in short periods of time making the
ARGOS system ideal for monitoring their movements (see
Fig.1).
As a pleasant surprise the accuracy of location fixes also
exceeded expectations with over half the location fixes
of location quality ‘2’ or ‘3’ (i.e. within about 500m). The
cockatoos spend minimal time foraging on the ground and
prefer to perch on top of the canopy of the tallest trees which
assists good communications with the ARGOS satellites.
It is also likely that within the study area there is minimal
amount of interference compared to many other regions of
the world such as Europe. The next closest city to Perth with
a population over 100,000 is over 2000km away.
A recognized success
Following on from the successes in 2012, and armed with a
better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the
data obtained from ARGOS, the study has shifted to focus on
understanding the roost site fidelity, daily movement patterns
and foraging strategy of the cockatoos in the urban landscape.
Twelve study birds were fitted with tracking devices and
released in 2013. Their tracking devices switch on for a period
at night enabling their communal night roost locations to be
identified. They also switch on for two mornings and two
afternoons each week to enable their foraging habits to be
studied. A vehicle fitted with roof-mount aerials and ARGOS
Locator receivers provide voice readout of signal strength
from study birds and this is used to locate and follow the
flocks containing them. The study birds have their tail feathers
coloured and marked with an identifying letter to make them
distinguishable from their wild flock mates (see photos).
Observations are made of flock sizes, feeding records and
drinking locations to identify the resources they are utilizing
and how they move through the urban landscape.
Now that the tracking methods have been tested, future
studies are planned to better understand the migratory habits
of this species and to study the closely related Baudin’s
cockatoo (C. baudinii) and Forest red-tail black cockatoo.
(C. banksii naso).
#77 11/ 20 13
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© Christine Groom
© Christine Groom
© Christine Groom
Christine Groom is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia in the
School of Animal Biology. She also works as a Research Officer in the Species and
Communities Branch of the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife.
See Christine’s blog : http://carnabyscockatoo.blogspot.com.au
CO-AUTORS :
Peter Mawson (Perth Zoo)
Kris Warren (School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University)
J. Dale Roberts (School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia)
Manda Page (Department of Parks and Wildlife)
Christine GROOM
#77 11/ 20 13
11/2013 #77 8 9
Fig. 1:
Juvenile eagle owl equipped with GPS satellite unit (Microwave, USA)
8
Since 2010,
a 4-year international research project on
eagle owl Bubo bubo natal dispersal has
started in south-western Finland. The eagle
owl is the largest European owl, ranging
from boreal forests to coastal habitats
of southern Europe. The main aim of the
study is to disentangle the different drivers
and factors affecting the process of natal
dispersal by studying the movements of
juveniles, which are radiotagged in the
surrounding of their nests when they are ca.
8 weeks old.
USER PROGRAM
NATAL
DISPERSAL OF
EAGLE OWLS
A EUROPEAN
SCALE PROJECT
Vincenzo is a researcher at the Estación Biológica
de Doñana (Spanish Council for Scientific Research,
C.S.I.C.). His scientific interests are mainly focused on
the ecology of natal dispersal and floater strategies,
animal movement, vocal communication and visual si-
gnalling, as well as effects of moon phases on animal
behaviour. Main preferred biological models are long-li-
ved predators (www.vincenzopenteriani.org).
Pertti is an emeritus researcher at the Finnish
Museum of Natural History. Before retirement
in2001 he worked 28 years as the Head of the
Finnish Bird Ringing Scheme. Saurola’s main
interest in ornithology has been research and
conservation of birds of prey, including satellite
tracking Ospreys and White-tailed Eagles.
Jari works as a Senior Curator at the Finnish Museum
of Natural History (FNHM). He is responsible for
monitoring of birds of prey populations in Finland
and is also the head of the Finnish bird ringing
scheme. He is working with population ecology of
birds of prey, in particular the Eurasian Eagle Owl
and Northern Goshawk.
María del Mar did a PhD in ecology at the Doñana Bio-
logical Station (CSIC, Spain); then she moved to the
University of Helsinki (Finland), where she is actually
working as a post-doctoral researcher. She is interested
on a wide array of issues within behavioural and evolu-
tionary ecology and conservation biology.
discovering that several of these young owls are killed by
humans. As an end consequence, this telemetry study also
allowed planning new conservation measures for the species
in this country.
During our researches in Finland, we are receiving the
continuous and indispensable help of several ornithologists
and ringers, in particular Jere Toivola and Eino Salo.
A juvenile is equipped with the transmitters in a boreal forest
of southern Finland An eagle owl juvenile improving its flying skills
ABOUT NATAL DISPERSAL
Natal dispersal (i.e., the movement of wandering individuals from their birthplaces to
their first breeding locations) can be considered one of the most intriguing ecological
processes determining the spatial spreading of individuals. Dispersal is a field that
embraces a multitude of disciplines, from population ecology and genetics to conservation
biology. The study of dispersal has very important conservation implications, mainly
because dispersers are the future breeders of animal populations, but their behaviours
and the areas they are using during dispersal have been poorly studied and are generally
unknown.
Map 1 Male and female eagle owls seem to follow two different dispersing strategies, males (orange path) being
more philopatric than females (green path): after wandering for several months, males have a tendency to come
back to the vicinity of the natal area (more information on our web page http://www.luomus.fi/english/zoology/
satellite_eagle_owls/). Map 2 Surprisingly, several inland eagle owls spent the winter on the frozen sea, moving among the small islands
and rocks of the archipelago south to Turku (Baltic Sea).
Vincenzo Penteriani
(EBD-CSIC) Pertti Saurola
(Université d’Helsinki) Jari Valkama
(FNHM) María del Mar Delgado
(CSIC)
By Vincenzo Penteriani, María del Mar Delgado, Jari Valkama and Pertti Saurola / CSIC - FNHM
Comparing studies to improve our
knowledge on the specie
Dispersal routes and behavioural strategies of boreal eagle
owls will be compared with the telemetry data already
available from two previous European studies on this species:
the one conducted by Vincenzo Penteriani and María del Mar
Delgado in the Mediterranean hills of southern Spain (Sierra
Norte of Seville) and the research carried out in the alpine
habitats of western Switzerland (Bern Alps; study conducted
by Raphäel Arlettaz and Adrian Aebischer, Institute of Ecology
and Evolution, Bern University).
This European scale study is expected to improve our
knowledge on how different ecological constraints may act
on the dispersal patterns of the same species.
The project is granted by the Autonomous Government
of Andalusia (Excellence Projects, SPAIN) and the
research team currently working in Finland is composed
by Vincenzo Penteriani (principal investigator, Estación
Biológica de Doñana, C.S.I.C., Spain), María del Mar Delgado
(Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki,
Finland), Jari Valkama and Pertti Saurola (Finnish Natural
History Museum, University of Helsinki, Finland).
Method used
During the Finnish project a total number of ca. 40 juveniles
will be radiotagged with GPS satellite units (Microwave,
USA), which are expected to last 1.5 – 2.5 years each. Over
this period, every ten days and during the whole night, the
hourly locations of each radiomarked owl are recorded via
the ARGOS system.
Results
Unexpectedly, the results of this project are going well
beyond original expectancies. Actually, we are not only
recording several interesting patterns of animal movements,
which are extremely valuable from a scientific perspective,
but the repeated checking of the eagle owl nests from
the egg-laying to the starting of dispersal showed us that
several eagle owl nests are still persecuted by humans in
Finland. Indeed, because eagle owls are tagged with 70
grams satellite units operated by the ARGOS system, it is
not possible to put transmitters on fledglings before they
are ca. 2 months old. Thus, by locate them after they leave
the nest (when they have approximately one month), very
small VHF leg tags are used: the continuous following
of the fledglings before they leave the nest, allowed us
11/2013 #77 10
Fig. 1:
1010
ZOOM on marabou 207 from 2009 to 2012
In the autumn
of 200 5 the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) issued a
warning to Africa that avian influenza would
arrive by Christmas and would devastate
poultry populations and pose a potentially
significant threat to humans. The FAO was
stating that the disease was being spread
by infected water birds and ornithologists
quickly to start studies on the subject.
In order to respond to this concern the
expertise of Neil Baker on waterbirds of
Tanzania has been asked to study samples
of aquatic birds and migrant residents at
locations along three migration routes used
by migratory birds of Palearctic the Nile, Rift
Valley and the East Coast. These locations
were also chosen because of their use by
humans, livestock and poultry.
USER PROGRAM
STUDYING
MARABOU STORKS
AROUND THE LAKE
VICTORIA BASIN
By Neil & Liz Baker / TAWIRI (Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute)
2009 2010 2011 2012
All the early samples proved negative but, at the FAO /
OIE (World Organisation for Animal health) conference
in Rome in May 2006 there were still sufficient concerns
that some field workers were asked to concentrate on
specific species that met certain criteria.
In Tanzania, Neil Baker chose 3 different bird species
for study.
- The Little Stint Calidris minuta,
- The Indian House Crow Corvus splendens,
- The stork Marabout
For our third species, the Marabou Stork Leptoptilos
crumeniferus seems to be very interesting according
to its strong presence in Tanzania. We have learned
from veterinarians of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Livestock Development in Dar es Salaam that H5N1 had
been detected in commercial poultry units in Khartoum
(Sudan) and subsequently in village chickens in Juba
(South Sudan) more than 1,200km further south along
the Nile Valley.
Marabou Storks feed on long dead animal matter
whatever the cause of death and are present in all
villages along the Nil. A published research (Pomeroy
1972) explains that these Nile Valley Marabous moved
south along the river into the Lake Victoria Basin only
500km further south.
The question is, do Marabous really move between the
Sudan and Lake Victoria and could Marabou’s live long
enough to carry the H5N1 virus from the Sudan to Lake
Victoria? Just how far these birds move, we know there
is some seasonality but the majority of birds appear to
be almost sedentary. Indeed, a very high concentration
of Marabou Stork is observed around rubbish dumps
and abattoirs. (The general public sees Marabou Stork
as a large ugly bird, more vulture than stork, standing
around waiting for something to die).
Our sample size for surveillance of avian influenza was
100 Marabou Storks.
USAID had contracted the animal disease unit within
the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to oversee
further surveillance and to offer satellite tracking where
it was deemed relevant. Having fitted PTTs to Greater
Flamingos in 2000 (Baker et al 2005) the opportunity
to fit them to Marabou Storks in the Lake Victoria basin
was taken with enthusiasm.
The research program was run close to Mwanza, the
second largest city in Tanzania, on the southern shore
of Lake Victoria where large flocks of Marabou are
concentrated at rubbish dumps, around fish landing
sites and at a specific site where fish scraps from
processing factories were dumped and processed for
local markets.
Method and equipments used
Marabous were fitted with 51.5gm solar powered PTTs
from North Star Science and Technology harness sat
snugly between the shoulder blades but Marabous
have long scapular feathers that would interfere with
light access to the panel when the birds were at rest
and we did not know if the storks would stay aloft long
enough to continually power the PTTs. On large birds the
usual arrangement is a back pack but Marabous have
a large soft airsac at the base of the neck so a pelvic
harness was used, adopted from a design developed by
ornithologists in Zimbabwe. The results obtained have
been SPECTACULAR and Marabou n°207 continues to
provide intermittent fixes, more than 4 years after fitting.
Neil BAKER arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in February 1980
and began a long process of observation and data collection for the Bird
Atlas. Working closely with his wife, LIZ BAKER, he established a
database of more than 800,000 observations of birds.
During the 1980s, there was great interest in forest bird is then diverted
to the benefit of waterfowl such as flamingos and African marabous.
A bird day
Marabous are entirely diurnal; they do not fly at night but
roost in trees or manmade structures such as electrical
sub-stations. All fixes during the hours of darkness could
then be attributed to roosting birds or those sitting on
nests.
Results found
Migratory wild bird were blamed for spreading avian
influenza but it seems that the viruses spread are more
likely to be caused by other vectors such as the import of
poultry or poultry products. Indeed, Marabous digestive
system has clearly evolved to withstand constant contact
with bacteria and viruses.
It is still important to continue the avian influenza
surveillance program on Marabou Storks and on other
migrant waterbird sprecies.
Fig. 2 An adult Marabou well perched above a fish market a few days
after being equipped with a PTT. The red air bag at the base of the
neck shows the skin here is incredibly thin and would be easily torn
by a conventional harness.
ARGOS tracking of 5 marabous equipped
Fig.1 Marabou after being fitted with a energy transmitter PTT.
During flying hours, the panels will be fully exposed to the sun.
DISTANCES COVERED, J UNE 2009 TO OCTOBER 2013
Marabout 206 : 65,536 km*
Marabout 207 : 47,761 km*
Marabout 209 : 63,505 km*
Marabout 213 : 5,180 km
Marabout 215 : 14,624 km
*Still transmitting
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11/2013 #77 12 13
Fig. 1:
© François SABATHE
12
Knowledge of bird migration patterns is
essential if we are to understand their
ecology and behavior. However, little is
known about the migration strategies of
many species, despite their importance in
the preservation of migratory avifauna.
Common Wood Pigeons (Columba
palumbus) are one of the most widespread
and abundant bird species in Europe. In
France, they are classified as game and
hunted extensively. Many birds cross France
during the autumn, some of them spending
the winter in south-western Europe, from
France to the Iberian peninsula. Despite
the species’ importance as a game bird, its
staging habits, habitats and (over)wintering
zones are still poorly known.
In 2001, the French GIFS wildlife study
group undertook a program to track these
birds using ARGOS transmitters. The results
led to new hypotheses about the species’
migration patterns, bringing into question
older, now obsolete, theories.
USER PROGRAM
SPATIO-TEMPORAL
TRACKING OF
COMMON WOOD
PIGEONS
IN EUROPE
By Valérie Cohou / GIFS France (Groupe d’Investigations sur la Faune Sauvage)
Valerie has a Master II degree in population dynamics and is responsible for missions within GIFS France since 2001.
She actively participates in the organization of the structure and its development. She gives great importance to the study of wood pigeons.
Valérie COHOU
The research project was achieved through the
involvement of the 13 hunting federations in the
Aquitaine and Midi Pyrenees regions and with financial
backing from many partners (Conseil Régional
Aquitaine, Conseil Régional de Midi-Pyrénées and the
Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs ). It also benefits
from an international partnership with scientists in
Portugal and Spain. The project’s principal objective
is to clarify the migrations of Common Wood Pigeons
in south-western Europe using ARGOS transmitters
(microwave telemetry) to ensure the species’
sustainable management.
Overall results
Between 2001 and 2003, eight Common Wood Pigeons
were fitted with ARGOS transmitters weighing 20 grams
with a nominal lifetime of no more than one year. The
pigeons were captured in February at Bourdalat, in
the Landes region of France. Between 2009 and 2013,
the French GIFS captured 39 birds in France and
Portugal, fitting them with new solar-powered ARGOS
transmitters weighing between 12 and 18 grams, with a
potential lifetime of several years.
Most of the individuals tracked followed a south-west/
north-east flyway during the spring migration, ending
their journey in Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland
or Finland. Two of them stopped near Toulouse, France,
one originating in Portugal and the other in south-west
France.
Lessons learned
Generally speaking, the birds are relatively attached to
their breeding zone. This hypothesis is currently being
confirmed by further research. On the other hand, they
appear to be less attached to their overwintering zones.
Several birds spent the cold season in different places
from one year to the next (the Iberian peninsula or the
south-west of France). However, these sites are always
along the South West/North East migration flyway, which
has been known for a long time. Common Wood Pigeons
appear to choose their overwintering area according to
opportunities, particularly available food. They may also
stay for more than a year on their breeding site.
Aniza, was fitted with a transmitter
in Portugal on 11 February 2009. It
migrated from 12 March to 14 May
2009, arriving in Switzerland. After
28 and a half months, it migrated
again from 4 to 29 October to
overwinter in the Landes region of
France. It then took only seven days
to fly back to Switzerland in the
spring of 2011, where it remained
until the summer of 2012.
Grosso, was also fitted with a
transmitter in Portugal on 11
February 2009. It nested in Poland
then overwintered in the Dordogne
département of France. In March
2010, it returned to Poland before
migrating back to the Lot-et-
Garonne département of France to
overwinter. It returned to Poland in
the following season.
Bourdalat, was fitted with a
transmitter in the south-west of
France on 16 February 2012 and
headed to Finland.
Three birds, three trajectories
Common wood pigeon
tagged and equipped with a 20 grams transmitter (Microwave Telemetry)
#77 11/ 20 13
11/2013 #77 14 15
Fig. 1:
1414
The Oriental
Honey Buzzard
or(Pernis ptilorhyncus) is a raptor
species distributed throughout East Asia.
The northern population, which breeds
in southern Siberia, northern Mongolia,
northeastern China, Korea and Japan,
migrates and is assumed to winter in south
and southeastern Asia. Among them, birds
breeding in Japan have to surmount large
stretches of water to reach their wintering
grounds, because Japan is an island nation
surrounded by sea. Using the ARGOS
system, we tracked the spring and autumn
migrations of more than 40 individual
buzzards from Japan, to determine where
and how the birds traveled between their
breeding and wintering grounds and the
ingenious strategies they devised for their
migrations.
USER PROGRAM
CROSS OR GO
AROUND?
STUDYING THE
MIGRATION
STRATEGY OF
ORIENTAL HONEY
BUZZARDS
IN EAST ASIA
By Noriyuki Yamaguchi / Nagasaki University, Japan
demands on basal metabolism. We will investigate the
three-dimensional patterns of Honey Buzzards crossing
the East China Sea directly by increasing our tracking
effort using ARGOS/GPS PTTs in the near future.
The large-scale migration detour
and its seasonal difference
In autumn, after departing from the western end of
Japan, the tracked birds migrated westward 680km
across the East China Sea, then crossed inland China,
Vietnam, Laos and Thailand until they reached the
Malay Peninsula. All the birds continued on from the
Malay Peninsula but their directions and terminal
points differed. Some birds reached the Philippines
through Borneo, while others ended their migration on
Borneo Island or moved along the Malay Archipelago.
In spring, the birds mainly followed the same routes
used during the autumn migration, but the routes over
inland China were located north of those used during
the autumn migration, and they reached the end of the
Korean Peninsula. Unlike the autumn migration, the
birds detoured around the East China Sea by travelling
the length of the Korean Peninsula and crossing the
Korean/Tsushima Strait to reach Japan. The birds thus
made a detour around the South China Sea both in
spring and autumn, but for the East China Sea, they
made a detour to get there in spring but crossed it
directly in the autumn (Fig. 1).
Buzzards can cross the sea directly owing
to autumn weather conditions over the
East China Sea
Why do the Oriental Honey Buzzards choose to cross
the East China Sea only in autumn? Why can the
birds only cross the sea directly in autumn? To answer
those questions, we examined weather conditions,
precipitation, thermal energy, and wind direction and
strength over the sea, and then, by overlaying the
flight paths, correlated the real-time locations of the
tracked birds with the various weather conditio ns.
We hypothesized that weather conditions, in particular
thermals and wind greatly affects the migration strategy
of the species, because they usually fly by soaring
and gliding. To analyze the weather conditions, we
used spatio-temporal data obtained from a numerical
weather-prediction product provided by the Japanese
Meteorological Agency.
Our weather analysis confirmed that there were
relatively strong and stable winds blowing in a
southwesterly direction (which are tailwinds for the
buzzards) over the East China Sea during the autumn. In
contrast, the wind directions were not stable in spring.
Furthermore, it appeared that relatively strong thermals
frequently occurred over broad areas of the sea during
the autumn. While crossing the sea in autumn, each
tracked bird travelled by catching strong thermals
and taking advantage of tail winds, thus avoiding bad
weather conditions, such as headwinds and rainfall
(animations can be found at goo.gl/IeRFlR and goo.gl/
w5GvNc for wind conditions; goo.gl/aUZJzj and goo.gl/
Q5rT8N for thermal energy).
Migratory raptors rely on soaring and gliding and thus
usually detour around sea barriers, probably because
thermals are very scarce over the ocean and the
birds must then flap their wings, thus consuming a
large amount of their energy reserves. The Japanese
population of Oriental Honey Buzzards made a detour
around the East China Sea in spring, supporting the
common belief that land birds should avoid crossing
broad water barriers. In contrast, they may chose to
cross the Sea directly in autumn, probably because of the
unique weather conditions there at that time. The birds’
itineraries strongly depend on wind direction, which
means they can conserve energy on this long non-stop
flight thanks to soaring and gliding thus making fewer
Fig. 1 Autumn (A) and spring (B) migration routes of Oriental Honey-Buzzards tracked from 2003 to 2009. From Higuchi (2010) Journal of Ornithology 153: 3-14.
Fig. 2 A snapshot showing movements of tracked Oriental Honey-Buzzards (colored circles) and the temporal change in the weather conditions in the
East China Sea in autumn. From Yamaguchi et al. (2012) Journal of Ethology 30: 1-10.
Noriyuki Yamaguchi is an associate professor at Nagasaki University, Japan. He has been studying the migration behavior of birds under the supervision
of Pr. Hiroyoshi Higuchi. He particularly focuses on how weather conditions affect migration routes and patterns of birds, by applying meteorological and
statistical methodology.
Noriyuki Yamaguchi
AUTUMN (A) SPRING (B)
11/2013 #77 16
ZOOM ON
TRACKING
EGYPTIAN
VULTURES IN THE
MIDDLE EAST
A GLOBALLY THREATENED
SPECIES
By Evan Buechley, Cagan Sekercioplu - The University of Utah and Emrah Coban - KuzeyDoga
17
©Rachel Berzins
This project is a collaboration between the University of Utah and
the Turkish non-profit organization Kuzey Doga.
Together, Evan Buechley, PhD student at the University of Utah,
Dr. Cagan Sekercioglu, professor at the University of Utah and
founder of Kuzey Doga, and Emrah Coban, KuzeyDoga biologist,
have conducted extensive surveys of vulture populations in eastern
Turkey, established Turkey’s first ever vulture restaurant which
provides a safe and reliable source of carrion, and has initiated the
first ever satellite-tracking study of an Egyptian vulture population
breeding outside of Europe.
In the summer of 2012 we trapped and fitted three Egyptian
vultures (Neophron Percnopterus) with satellite tracking devices in
Igdir Province of eastern Turkey. The 3 birds, named Aras, Igdir, and
Arpacay, were fitted with satellite transmitters that were provided
by the Turkish government with a one-time investment in this
project.
These three birds revealed a previously undocumented migratory
route for the species, traveling over the Arabian Peninsula and
crossing at the Straight of Bab el Mandeb into Africa.
On their migrations, they passed through a long list of countries;
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Unfortunately, Aras stopped sending transmissions in central
Ethiopia, and we are working to track down any information in
this regard. Arpacay went missing during migration in southern
Iraq. We contacted BirdLife Iraq, who within a couple of days
of our reaching out, managed to track down the last location
and recover the bird, collect information on the area, and obtain
the transmitter for our future use. We cannot thank BirdLife
Iraq enough for their professional and timely help in this regard.
While unfortunate, documenting such mortalities is an important
component of this project. Of the three birds, Igdir is the only that
made the return migration to Turkey along a strikingly overlapping
migration path. In the summer of 2013 we were very pleased to
see Igdir back in Turkey and confirm that she was attending a nest
in the Aras River Bird Sanctuary!
While this initial year of tracking data was fascinating, we plan
to fit more Egyptian vultures with satellite tracking devices in
coming years to augment our sample size and expand upon our
knowledge of this important breeding population of the species.
We are very honored to have received the North Star transmitter
grant in 2013. In the upcoming months, we will be working hard
to fit these tracking devices on Egyptian vultures and to continue
analysis of the habitat usage and migration strategies of this
charismatic species.
North Star
helps understanding and preserving Old
World vultures with its Grant Program
PROJETCS
NORTHSTAR
GRANT
PROGRAM
PRESENTATION OF THE
WINNING PROJECTS
Project 1 Egyptian vulture Project 2 Hooded Vultures in Africa
Initiated in 2003 and managed by the American Bird Conser-
vancy, North Star’s bi-annual Grant Program provides 8 PTTs
(any model) to winning projects.
The jury in charge of selecting programs took into account
several points:
- The expertise of researchers
- The feasibility of the projects
- The scientific and conservation merit
- The plans for disseminating results to managers and the
public.
This year, the expert review panel convened by the American
Bird Conservancy selected 2 projects out of 32 proposals
received, each of which will receive 4 GPS PTTs.
Interestingly, both winning projects this year are studying old
world vultures. «Old World vultures are facing a crisis as most
of their populations are witnessing alarming declines. Indeed,
both Asia and Africa have recently observed a wide-spread
unprecedented decline of many species of vultures.» Vultures
are an ecologically vital group of birds that face a range of
threats around the world.
Vultures serve a critical function helping to clean the environ-
ment of waste and to reduce the threat of disease outbreaks.
Vultures feed on the remains of dead animals, removing car-
casses rapidly and helping other scavengers locate carcasses.
ARGOS tracking of 3 Egyptian vultures between 2012 and 2013
Evan is a PhD student in Biology at the University of Utah. His research interests pertain to the conservation and ecology
of birds, specifically endangered species management, climate change, renewable energy infrastructure, and ecosystem
services. He has worked as a professional field biologist for 7 years on projects in five countries and four continents. Work
experiences includes managing populations of critically endangered California condors in the southwestern US, conducting a
population status assessment of the Augur buzzard in Kenya, censusing the avian communities on the islands of Micronesia,
assisting with reintroductions of Bearded vultures in Spain, and assessing the impacts of wind farms on birds in the western
US. Please see our lab website for more information on our first year tracking Egyptian vultures breeding in Turkey at:
http://bioweb.biology.utah.edu/sekercioglu/Vulture%20Research/vulture_index.html
Evan Buechley
(from left to right Kayahan Agirkaya and Evan Buechley)
Evan Buechley and KuzeyDoga Biologist Yakup Sasmaz prepare to
release an Egyptian vulture fitted with a satellite telemetry unit in
eastern Turkey
This year’s winning proposals are as
follows:
Project 1 : «Ecology and Migration of an Important Breeding
Population of the Globally Endangered Egyptian Vulture
(Neophron percnopterus)»
By Evan Buechley and Cagan Sekercioglu / University of Utah.
This project will use North Star GPS PTTs to study the ecology
and migration of an important breeding population of the
globally endangered Egyptian Vulture in the Kars and Igdar
Provinces of eastern Turkey.
This study will be the largest and most comprehensive
tracking study of Egyptian Vultures anywhere in the world and
will provide crucial information about the behavior, habitat
use, and migratory routes of this species in a region of the
world where they have been very little studied. The Egyptian
Vulture is relatively abundant in Kars and Igdir Provinces, but
it is globally endangered and declining throughout its range.
It has shown one of the fastest global declines of any species,
and went from «Least Concern» to «Endangered» in just one
year, 2007.
The project will use the resulting tracking data to:
1) Determine summer and winter home ranges, migration
routes, breeding territories, and foraging grounds;
2) Evaluate habitat preferences and usage;
3) Study juvenile dispersal;
4) Identify causes of mortality and geographic bottlenecks;
and
5) Target conservation actions
Evan Buechley and other researcher have already worked on
program studies -– more details page 17 article opposite.
Project 2 : « Movement Ecology and Conservation of Hooded
Vultures in Africa»
By Dr. Keith Bildstein and Dr. Jean-Francois Therrien / Hawk
Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania.
The project selected in the Grant program will use North
Star GPS PTTs and aims to assess the movement ecology of
Hooded Vultures in East, West, and South Africa.
Specifically, the project seeks to identify the sizes of home
ranges and the extent of seasonal movements in individuals.
Moreover, it is hoped to be able to assess the vultures’ reliance
on human activities for food, and to pinpoint potential feeding
hotspots and areas of urgent conservation concern. It is also
hoped that factors can be identified that are responsible
for population declines in the species and to assess current
survival rates of individuals in the wild.
The North Star Grant Program will occur
again in 2014-2015.
The program will be announced in the fall
of 2014 and have proposals due in the late
winter of 2015.
To date, since the inception of program,
North Star has provided over 60 PTTs to
ground-breaking projects all over the world.
© Evan Buechley
www.northstarst.com
North Star Science and Technology,LLC
P.O. Box 438
King George, VA 22485 USA
Ph.: +1 (410) 961-6692
E-mail : blake@northstarst.com
16
11/2013 #77 18 #77 11/2 0 13
19
Since summer 2012, Dr. Hironori Yabuki and his team
at Jamstec (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science
and Technology ), in cooperation with IMHE (Institute of
Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environment ), have set up
ARGOS-III two-way data transmission for near real-time
observation at their four Automatic Climate Observation
System (ACOS) sites in Mongolia. The first site, in Tavan
Bogd in western Mongolia, is the area of highest altitude in
the country. The second site, at Bulgan in eastern Mongolia,
is the area of lowest altitude. The third and fourth sites, at
Nalaikh and Terelj, respectively, are both in the central area.
Hourly transmitted observations include weather data
such as temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity,
wind speed and direction, precipitation, solar radiation,
snow depth as well as soil moisture. On top of these
observation sensors, Dr. Yoshihiro Iijima JAMSTEC and
Hidefumi Yatomi CLS Tokyo office have implemented
JPEG cameras to watch vegetation and accumulated
snow at the sites in Bulgan and Terelj. The JPEG images
are transmitted with ARGOS-III HDR (High Data Rate).
The ARGOS-III HDR is capable of transmitting 50 kilo
bytes data per day, at about 50° latitude. In Bulgan, a
VGA resolution (640 x 480) JPEG image, size of which is
30 to 40 kbytes, is transmitted every day. The image file
is divided into 60 to 70 HDR messages, and transmitted
to METOP-A and SARAL satellites. The image data
transmission is completed with 3 or 4 satellite passes
within half a day.
The JPEG images will be useful for a number of
applications, including watching the ice conditions for
polar researchers, monitoring nesting places for biologists,
or any other site monitoring. ARGOS-III HDR makes it
possible to develop new and scientifically pertinent uses
of the ARGOS system.
The JAMSTEC’s JPEG transmission is implemented with
Campbell CR1000 data logger and a serial JPEG camera.
The CR basic software and camera are available via CLS
as well as a package of JPEG transmission tool. The
received JPEG images are made available to a user on a
dedicated WEB site.
Site 2 BULGAN Camera installed on site 2
JPEG image taken
in August 22, 2013 JPEG image taken
in October 14, 2013
Site 3 NALAIKH
Site 4 TERELJ
To help you find your platform equipped with an ARGOS
transmitter
The new RXG-134 goniometer is an indispensable portable
tool for retrieving an ARGOS transmitter in the field. With its
very high sensitivity, it indicates the direction and strength of
a signal from an ARGOS transmitter in order to facilitate a
search.
The RXG-134 can receive an ARGOS signal at a distance of
more than 100 km, depending on the elevation at which the
goniometer antenna is placed, the strength of the signal sent
by the ARGOS transmitter to be found, and the environmental
conditions.
The bearing of the signal received from the ARGOS transmitter
and its estimated distance are displayed instantaneously
on the goniometer’s screen each time a signal is received.
The goniometer directly collects the ARGO S messages received
and these can then be downloaded to a PC with a USB link.
If the ARGOS transmitter to be found is equipped with a GPS,
the RXG-134 goniometer can instantly decode the coordinates
transmitted in the ARGOS messages and display them on its
screen to facilitate retrieval.
The RXG-134 is fully compatible with all generations of ARGOS
transmitters: from ARGOS-1 to ARGOS-3. A built-in GPS and
internal compass provide the goniometer’s local position. This
new portable tool is waterproof (IP66) and has an operating
autonomy of 50 hours.
Please contact us for further details at info@cls.fr
1
2
4
3
NEWS
ARGOS-3 HD
JPEG IMAGES
TRASMISSION
IN ADDITION TO
METEOROLOGICAL DATA
NEW
GONIOMETER
RXG-134
NEWS
Site 1 TAVAN BOGD
Location of 4 sites in Mongolia
18
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