Amur Falcon Migration

 Hi Bernd,

I sent this out in January when I first heard of your sat tag programme. This from what we know from observations in Tanzania. 216 records on our database. Coastal rains were later than usual this year, our heaviest rains this past week when the Amurs will have normally already passed though, main movement in late March rather than April. Look forward to seeing your route maps.

No resident observers in SE Tanzania.

These birds migrate too high for ground based observers, only coming down to feed prior to roost or in heavy rain storms. One recent "spring" record of a flock passing through the Iringa Highlands, observed from a high point not normally visited and not included on this map.

ABC members will have to check our web site for this map.

cheers

Neil



CRAIG T. SYMES and STEPHAN WOODBORNE (2010) Migratory connectivity and conservation of the Amur Falcon Falco amurensis: a stable isotope perspective. Bird Conservation International (online early)


Abstract
Stable isotopes (δD, δ13C, δ15N) were measured in adult and juvenile Amur FalconFalco amurensis feathers to understand the migratory connectivity of this species. Using the OIPC (Online Isotopes in Precipitation Calculator) and a calibration curve for American Kestrels Falco sparverius we predicted the breeding range of South African Amur Falcons in the Palaearctic. δD values for juvenile feathers (mean ± SE = -58.1 ± 2.5‰, range -83.9 to -25.7‰) and predicted Palaearctic annual precipitation values indicated that juvenile Amur Falcons in South Africa originated from across their entire Palaearctic range. This rejects the leapfrog migration hypothesis and suggests the widespread movement of birds south, with a funnelling effect into the subregion where they become concentrated over a narrower distribution range. Adult δDf values were more depleted (-37.4 ± 1.8‰, range = -71.3 to -9.3‰) than predicted annual precipitation values for sites where feathers moulted in South Africa (-20.2 ± 0.9‰) but there was no correlation between δDp and δDf. This, together with significant variation of δ13C among sites and annual fluctuations in roost sizes, suggests that roost site fidelity is low in the overwintering range. Populations not confined to breeding sites in South Africa are able to move widely across the subregion, feeding on a broad range of arthropods that become seasonally abundant during the austral summer. Total population estimates for South Africa are significantly lower than global estimates so a significant proportion of the population may not overwinter in South Africa or global populations are significantly lower than estimated. In South Africa, roosts that number hundreds to thousands of individuals are often in large exotic trees, e.g. Eucalyptus sp. They are often tolerant of disturbance at roosts which may be of little concern for their conservation. Habitat changes in the overwintering range in South Africa though, particularly due to agriculture, afforestation and strip mining, may affect global population numbers. There is also concern over the persecution of birds along their migratory route.


----- Original Message -----
From: Mindy Rosenzweig
To: AfricanBirding@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 12:08 PM
Subject: Re: [AfricanBirding] Amur Falcon migration



Bernd,

Greetings from Egypt! This species has never been recorded in Egypt to our knowledge, but presumed to occur given our reports of this species from the WP. If any of our tracked birds, are heading toward Egypt or are recorded here...please let us know.

Thanks!

Mindy Baha El Din



--- On Sun, 2/5/10, WWGBP@aol.com wrote:


From: WWGBP@aol.com
Subject: [AfricanBirding] Amur Falcon migration
To: AfricanBirding@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, 2 May, 2010, 11:31 AM



Dear All,


We are satellite tracking a number of Amur Falcons at the moment which I fitted with transmitters in January in South Africa. Most of them are in Somalia right now and have come through Tanzania.

We would be interested in any published and unpublished records on Amur Falcon migration.

Some of our publications using satellite telemetry are available as PDF files at www.raptor-research .de.


With kind regards,

Bernd Meyburg

BUMeyburg@aol. com
www.raptor-research .de