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This news from Yahoo Birding Groups.... Dear All,
The Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) is a complete, long distance, trans-equatorial migrant. Migrating birds leave their Asian breeding range and travel to northeastern India and Bangladesh, where they fatten up while staging for overland flights over peninsular India. This species is believed to then undertake the longest regular overwater passage of any raptor as it crosses the Indian Ocean between southwestern India and tropical East Africa, a journey of more than 4,000 km, which also includes nocturnal flight. Birds arrive in their southern African winter range in November-December and depart by early May. This species is an "elliptical migrant", and its return route back to its breeding range is probably largely overland and to the north and west of its southbound route. It is finely attuned to the strong monsoon tailwinds, which results in its late arrival in eastern Africa in autumn after its long flight from the Far East.
Recent observations in late November-early December in Ethiopia suggest that there may be a regular overland passage for this species at a higher latitutde than had been previously thought.
Some interesting aspects of the Amur Falcon migration are that:
1. It has one of the of longest migration routes of all birds, from eastern Asia all the way to southern Africa.
2. We are not 100% sure of its migration route, but current thinking is that it migrates large distance across the sea between India and the east African coast. Migrating over the sea is unusual for raptors.
3. It has been recorded to migrate during the night. Very little is know about night migration in birds of prey.
In our opinion, Amur Falcon is one of the most suitable species for studies of long-distance migration among the once currently available for satellite telemetry.
In a big joint effort BirdLife South Africa (Rina Pretorius, Sylva Francis, Zephné Bernitz), Microwave Telemetry, Inc., USA (Paul Howey) and German members of the World Working Group on Birds of Prey (WWGBP) (Bernd Meyburg, Achim Matthes) started now a satellite telemetry programm to study the almost unknown migration routes and other aspects of the biology of this little known raptor species.
At the biggest wintering roost known in South Africa (ca 26,000 birds) almost 50 birds were trapped during the last few days. The biggest 10 adult falcons were selected and fitted with experimental 5g solar-powered satellite tags.
Already after very few days surprising new information has been gathered: A female went to other roosts over 100 km away from the original roost where it had been trapped.
Kind regards from South Africa,
Bernd Meyburg
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