The Migration of the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni in Eastern Europe - A Ringing Recovery and Direct Observation Approach

Abstract

We examined ringing recovery data of the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni in order to analyse its migration patterns and philopatry rates in Eastern Europe. In addition, we extracted counts of migrating birds from online databases and studied the use of the flyway as well as the phenology of both spring and autumn migrations through Greece. Birds appeared to migrate in the same mean direction in spring and autumn through the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas. During spring, movements took place on a broad front from March until mid- May with a peak in mid-April; in autumn, birds migrated through Greece on a narrower front from early August to early October, with most of individuals passing through Greece in mid-September. Finally, philopatry rates were higher for adults, while juvenile birds dispersed more often and at longer distances, up to 974 km away. Our results on migration patterns generally agree with those in other studies, but we found some evidence of long-distance premigratory movements towards mainland Greece that could also shape the narrower front migration in autumn. In addition, long distance dispersal movements of juveniles in southeastern Europe, where Lesser Kestrel populations show a fragmented distribution, could facilitate gene flow between populations, thus avoiding the negative effects of mating with genetically similar individuals.

Genetic structure of a patchily distributed philopatric migrant: implications for management and conservation

“…Correlation between genetic and geographical distance has been previously reported for the species at both local (Ortego et al, 2008b) and large spatial scales (Alcaide et al, 2008a, b) and can be driven by the distance-dependent dispersal exhibited by the species Ortego et al, 2008b). Some long-distance dispersal events that could have facilitated gene flow among populations have been reported across the CE Mediterranean region (Gustin et al, 2011;Bounas et al, 2016a). Nevertheless, some of these movements took place in the 1950s when the species showed a wider distribution.…”

“…Such restricted gene flow patterns do not necessarily result from physical barriers hindering dispersal, especially in efficient dispersers such as the lesser kestrel, but can be attributed also to their philopatric behaviour. Indeed, the species shows high philopatry, with adult birds returning to breed close to their previous breeding territories (Negro et al, 1997), although juveniles disperse more and to greater distances Bounas et al, 2016a). At least at a continental scale, lesser kestrels show strong migratory connectivity, i.e.…”

Using genetic markers to unravel the origin of birds converging towards pre-migratory sites

“…Red arrows show the inferred directions of movements towards the pre-migratory sites (black stars). Black arrows indicate movements reported by ringing recoveries 38 , 48 , 49 . Dashed arrow shows the putative movement of individuals through areas with increased presence of migrating Lesser Kestrels 58 .…”

“…Therefore, the importance of pre-migratory areas has been discussed in previous studies 41 , 42 for a number of different species 43 – 46 . Although data from tracking devices and ringing recoveries have revealed few specific movements of individuals towards known pre-migratory sites in the Iberian 37 , 47 , Apennine 38 , 48 and the Balkan Peninsula 49 , detailed knowledge concerning the origin of individuals in pre-migratory sites is rather restricted.…”

Different trends of neighboring populations of Lesser Kestrel: Effects of climate and other environmental conditions

“…The Lesser Kestrel is a small raptor and a long‐distance migrant that breeds in the open and dry cereal steppes of the Palearctic (Ferguson‐Lee & Christie, ) and overwinters in sub‐Saharan West Africa (i.e., Bounas, Panuccio, Evangelidis, Sotiropoulus, & Barboutis, ; Limiñana et al, ). It is a secondary‐cavity nester that forms colonies of 2–45 pairs in cliffs or rural buildings, often in association with other species (Campobello, Hare, & Sarà, ; Campobello, Sarà, & Hare, ; Sarà, Campobello, & Zanca, ).…”