Flexible or Familiar? Migrating Gulls are both!

This blog post is provided by Morgan Brown and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Long‐distance migrants vary migratory behaviour as much as short‐distance migrants: An individual‐level comparison from a seabird species with diverse migration strategies”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. Morgan Brown is a PhD candidate with Prof. Judy Shamoun-Baranes and Prof. Willem Bouten in the Institute for Biodiversity and … Continue reading Flexible or Familiar? Migrating Gulls are both!

Light‐Level Geolocator Analyses: A user’s guide

In the biologging Special Issue of the journal, we have new ‘How to…’ paper lead by Simeon Lisovski from the Swiss Ornithological Institute on Light‐Level Geolocator Analyses. In this blog Simeon walks us through the history of the development of the light-level geolocator, discusses how to choose the best tools for analyzing the date and presents future directions of their usage. Simeon is a Geo.X Young … Continue reading Light‐Level Geolocator Analyses: A user’s guide

Open Call for Papers: Special Feature on Biologging

With the recent advances in GPS and sensor technology, including three-axis accelerometers, it has become possible to simultaneously track multiple animals with a high accuracy while recording detailed information about their physiological status and measuring their energy expenditures. By providing a huge amount of accurate data in real time, biologging enables the uncovering of the hidden lives of animals in the wild. The recent explosion of … Continue reading Open Call for Papers: Special Feature on Biologging

Drifting birds of prey use predictable winds during migration

European Honey Buzzards Pernis apivorus soaring in the wind.
European Honey Buzzards Pernis apivorus soaring in the wind.

This post is a press release from the authors of Journal of Animal Ecology paper “Seasonal detours by soaring migrants shaped by wind regimes along the East Atlantic Flyway” by Wouter M. G. Vansteelant et al. Issued by University of Amsterdam.

Birds of prey let themselves be carried by predictable winds
At the start of autumn, several billion migratory birds take flight for a long, adventurous journey to Africa. How do they manage to complete this difficult journey successfully year after year? To find out, a team of researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) tracked the behaviour of migrating European honey buzzards using small GPS backpacks. They combined GPS data with meteorological models to show how these migratory birds travel via complicated detours to make use of predictable weather patterns. They do so especially over the Sahara Desert, an inhospitable landscape they need to cross as quickly as possible. Continue reading “Drifting birds of prey use predictable winds during migration”