News from the Strait of Messina

A new fieldwork season began at the Strait of Messina. After a week of observations, ca. 1500 raptors were counted, mostly Black Kites. In the picture (by Michele Cento), a flock of Black Kites roosting yesterday at sunset, very close the observation post.

Two new papers out now!

In the first one we analyze for the first time three autumn and three spring migrations of an adult European Honey Buzzard belonging to the population breeding in Central-eastern Europe tracked by satellite telemetry.

Agostini N, Prommer M, Váczi M, Panuccio M 2019. Repeated large scale loop migrations of an adult European Honey Buzzard. Avocetta 43: 13-21.

In the other one we investigate the composition and abundance of wintering raptors in Rome.

Panuccio M, Foschi F, Todini A, Baldi A, Dominicis N, De Filippis P, Casini S, De Pisa G, Palmeri A 2019. Better to stay downtown or in the countryside? Raptors wintering in urban and rural protected areas of Rome (Central Italy). Avocetta 43: 67-73.

Michele: a young short-toed eagle tagged with GPS

Some days ago, exactly 30 days after Michele's death, we tagged with a satellite transmitter this young short-toed eagle, that could only be called Michele. One of its parents is Egidio, a short-toed eagle that we have been following since its birth and that this year bred successfully for the first time. We hope that Michele will soon fly across European and African skies! We thank Ornis Italica for the collaboration.