Recoveries by Condition for Northern Gannet

Over 80% of recoveries are of dead birds, occurring equally over entire range, and of which majority refer to beached birds. About one tenth of total are birds drowned in fishing nets, over 6% are oil victims, but trend decreasing over time. Mortality very high during early life, with almost one-third of juveniles dying within 2 months of leaving the colony (Lane et al 2021). Birds shot or intentionally taken 5% of total, mostly in France and Spain. Ringing recoveries rare, mainly in large colonies. Birds otherwise alive found relatively often at Sea, possibly weakened birds found at ships?

Annual Movements for Northern Gannet

Variation in occurrence in time and place subtle, with recoveries occurring in whole area in all months, but most recoveries in W Africa in Nov-Mar, N Norway and Kola Peninsula only from end May to end Aug (Sep). Most recoveries in Mediterranean in Oct-Apr, few in M East in Dec-Mar. Increasing density of recoveries on coasts of Denmark to Spain from mid Jul, reaching maximum in Sep-Oct, fading out until relatively few in Dec. Many offshore recoveries in Gulf of Biscay begin Sep – mid Oct.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Northern Gannet

Vast majority of connections from birds ringed during breeding in Jun-Jul in NW Europe, connecting to coast of British Isles in Aug-Apr, to European coast from Norway to Spain Aug-Mar, with majority in Sep-Nov, to W Africa in Nov-Feb. Few connections to Iceland and N Norway during breeding in Jun. Bird breeding in Norway (Jul-Aug) connect to coasts of Germany to Spain in Aug-Jan, W Africa in Oct-Apr. Relatively few to British Isles in Oct-Jan. Birds breeding in W Europe all from St. Anne, off coast of Normandy, France. Birds ringed there in Jun connect to coast of Denmark to NW France and S coast of England in all months, but mainly May-Sep, to W France and Spain mainly in Sep-Nov, W Africa in Jan-Apr. One bird ringed as juvenile in New Brunswick, Canada in Aug reached NW Spain in Oct.

Recoveries by Condition for Snow Bunting

Protected species in Europe. NW & N Europe hold the bulk of encounters (ca. 56 and 21% respectively). The dataset has largely been populated after mid-1990s. The encounters mainly come from outside breeding season (Nov-Apr) – ca. 95%.

The encounters based on dead birds (mostly sick/ wounded or other than shot/ intentionally taken recovery condition categories) decreased markedly over the years – from 70% pre-1960 to just 1% after 1991. Inversely, the share of recoveries based on alive birds largely increased – from 30 to 99% respectively, the latter mostly due to ringing encounters. The proportion of colour marking records stays comparatively stable since 1961– about 5-6%.

Annual Movements for Snow Bunting

On British Isles, migrating birds (mostly from Iceland and Greenland) appear as early as Oct, mostly in Nov. A bird marked in mid-Sep at Heligoland Is. (North Sea) was encountered a month later (mid-Oct) wintering in Italy.

Most wintering birds in the temperate zone of Europe are encountered between Nov and Feb. Return movements in spring result in arrival at the breeding grounds as early as Mar in low Arctic and Apr-May in high Arctic.

Migratory birds from the Greenland population generally leave in Sep-Oct and return from late Mar to May, males being 2-4 weeks earlier than females (Lyngs 2003).

Population breeding on Svalbard Is generally follows a clock-wise loop migration to its wintering grounds in W Siberia, although considerable variation in routes during the non-breeding period has been recorded (Snell et al. 2018).

Connectivity by Month by Region for Snow Bunting

In general, females appear to migrate south earlier and farther than males (Montgomerie, Lyon 2020). Males predominate in the wintering populations to the N, while wintering birds in W Europe are mainly females. About 80% of the birds encountered in Scotland during winter have been of Icelandic origin (Banks et al. 1991).

Breeding sites are usually left early- to mid-autumn. Birds wintering in W, S & E Europe are encountered from early autumn but mainly from late autumn to late winter. The breeding sites are reached early- to late spring, depending to latitude. However, at any site the arrivals in spring could span for more than a month (Montgomerie, Lyon 2020).

Most ringing data during winter come from the coastal areas of North Sea region. There are very few encounters of birds wintering in C, SE & E Europe.

Recoveries by Condition for Bar-tailed Godwit

There are numerous recoveries each year since 1980, corresponding to an increase in reports of colour-ringed Bar-tailed Godwits. Overall 37% of recoveries have been identified from colour rings (50% since 1990), and 6% have been shot (80% before 1961).

Annual Movements for Bar-tailed Godwit

For Siberian breeders, tracking data show departures from the Wadden Sea from mid-May, stopovers near the White Sea in early Jun, and also in Aug on the return migration (Exo et al. 2016). After breeding in the Siberian tundra, the same adults move to the Siberian coast between the end of Jun and the end of Jul, probably depending on breeding failure/success, then start to move back to Europe in early Aug.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Bar-tailed Godwit

The first spring movements of birds wintering in NW and W Europe are apparent from mid-Apr, but become more pronounced in the first dekad of May; the Siberian breeding grounds are reached by the end of May. There is an increase in encounters in the Wadden Sea by the end of Jul, as early adults return, while some non-breeders remain on the European wintering grounds throughout the year. There are some winter movements, with many lapponica moving west (from the Netherlands and E England) after moulting and starting their return journeys as early as Feb.

Recoveries by Condition for Water Rail

While half the old recoveries come from dead or hunted birds this changed drastically after 1990 when 95% of recoveries are of live birds, mostly intentionally captured by ringers. This is tightly linked to a huge increase in recovery numbers in the 2000s.

Annual Movements for Water Rail

There are recoveries year-round in the wintering range, while most Central European grounds are empty from November to February. The migration or SW shift of mowing birds does not follow particular routes, while coastal hotspot probably correspond to stations capturing the species. Active migration across Europe peaks at the end of March and the end of October.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Water Rail

Birds from the migratory populations, either in the North, Central and East Europe, are recorded in western Europe (British Isles and North-West France), during the winter months, from November to February, coming back to the breeding grounds in April. The lack of recoveries in March might be due to the closure of the hunting season.

Recoveries by Condition for Griffon Vulture

Overall, most recoveries (almost 75%) due to birds found alive, especially identified by other means (e.g., wing tags, Darvic rings, etc.). A remarkably low (N = 8) amount of recoveries caused by shot. Up to 1990, most recoveries were caused by birds found dead, other or sick/wounded (74%). The increasing amount of recoveries was due to the use of additional marks, which is a recent practice (observed from 1991 to present).

Annual Movements for Griffon Vulture

Long-distance displacements to presumably ‘wintering’ areas occur mostly from Sep to Apr, with most long-distance recoveries being found from Nov to Feb. Recoveries in N Europe, occurring mostly in spring/summer, could reveal exploratory dispersal displacement of first-year/immature vultures. Passage to Africa from Gibraltar documented mostly in Oct-Nov (Bildstein et al. 2009); return from Africa up to Jun (Bensusan et al. 2007).

Connectivity by Month by Region for Griffon Vulture

Regional/local-scale movements (of up to some hundreds of kilometers) can happen in any month along the year, since these birds can move very long distances when they look for food (García-Ripollés et al. 2011, Zuberogoitia et al. 2012). Long-distance dispersal movements, however, fit to the characteristics of what we could classify as a true seasonal migratory movement (see also for details Onrubia 2021). Thus, recoveries in Africa of SW/W mostly happen in autumn/winter; a similar pattern is found for the long-distance movements of vultures from SC/SE Europe. These all long-distance movements have been reported to be likely more frequent in first year birds/subadults (Elosegui & Elosegui 1977, Bernis 1983, Bensusan et al. 2007, Ramírez et al. 2019). Interestingly, north-wards movements for all populations tend to happen in spring/summer, mostly from May to Aug.

Recoveries by Condition for Black Stork

There is a complete shift from 5% of live re-encounters before 1960 (so mainly dead recoveries) to over 90% of live re-encounters after 1990, largely due to the development of numerous colour ringing schemes of this iconic species.

Annual Movements for Black Stork

Tagged Iberian black storks began autumn migration between mid-September and beginning-October; most flew to the Sahel without stopovers in 2–3 weeks (Cano et al. 2013). The migration of tracked French and German birds to their Sahelian wintering grounds lasted on average 27 days, and provided a description of the routes (Chevallier et al. 2010). During autumn migration, storks in Europe maintained a direct SSW course that was initiated before crossing the Eastern Massif Central in France. In Africa, the storks first flew south across the Moroccan Atlas. At the western edge of Algeria, the storks separated and continued in different directions (SSE and SSW) depending on their wintering destination (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger). During spring migration, each stork in Africa followed a NW flight path. Black storks reached the Strait of Gibraltar, flew NNE or NE to attain the mid-west of Spain, then continued either northward or NNE.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Black Stork

Birds are almost all back on the breeding grounds by early April. Birds from Central and East Europe are start to move in July, though main recovery flow in the South-West occur from mid-August to the end of September. The same hold true for Eastern birds in the Middle East, though there are recoveries in northern Israel during all winter months. The first recoveries in the Sahel are from the end of September, the last during the first decade of April. Movements are also noted in the Sahel during the winter (Jiguet et al. 2010). There are some winter recoveries in Spain and France, mirroring the recent increase of wintering numbers in South-West Europe in the recent decades.

Recoveries by Condition for Common Sandpiper

Most encounters are obtained after the mid-1960s. They come mainly from Jul-Aug – 66% combined (late breeding season and early autumn migration). Most encounters in Apr-Jul are based primarily on adults and first-year birds while those from Aug-Sep – mainly juveniles. Majority of encounters (ca. 84%) are recorded in C, NW, N and W Europe (38, 16, 16 and 14% respectively). The encounters based on dead birds decreased markedly over the years: from 64% pre-1960 to less than 1% after 1991; those based on alive birds considerably increased from 30% before 1960 to 95% after 1991. The latter is mostly due to ringing recoveries, and especially to colour mark records (17% of all encounters). Shooting as а factor has been largely reduced from 38% pre-1960 to less than 1% after 1991.

Annual Movements for Common Sandpiper

Post-breeding dispersal and autumn migration start in Jul, adults usually precede juveniles. The difference between age median dates varies between 11 days in SE Sweden (Iwajomo, Hedenström, 2011) and 50 days in E Spain (Josa et al. 2019). Most post-breeding records in Europe are from Aug – early Sep. The birds stay in their African wintering areas mostly Oct-Feb; the earliest ringing encounters from W Africa are in Sep. Spring migration starts in Mar and the breeding grounds are reached mostly in Apr-May (at this time some birds still present in NW Africa).

Tracked birds from Scotland wintered in coastal W Africa (mainly Guinea-Bissau) Oct-Feb. The southward migration took on average 17.5 days, while the northward – 16 days; staging areas were used in Morocco, Iberian Peninsula and France. The breeding sites were reached in early May (Bates et al. 2012, Summers et al. 2019).

Connectivity by Month by Region for Common Sandpiper

Eurasian-African migrant, migrating on a broad front; small numbers usually winter in W & S Europe, and the Middle East (Van Gils et al. 2020). Dispersal movements and autumn migration start as early as mid-summer, juveniles following the adults about a month later. The main passage through Europe is in late summer and early autumn. African wintering grounds are usually occupied between mid-autumn and late winter. The European breeding sites are reached mainly mid- to late spring.

Most of the foreign recoveries obtained in the Iberian Peninsula during autumn migration originated from C and N Europe (35 and 34% respectively), followed by W (19%) and NW Europe (12%) (Arcas 1999).

A hopping migration strategy has been suggested based on data from the Mediterranean region (Baccetti et al 1992, de Elgea & Arizaga 2016).

Most of the distant (>=50 km) recoveries are less than 3000km away (but some are nearly 7000km).

Recoveries by Condition for Purple Sandpiper

Most encounters are obtained after late 2000s, throughout the year but peaking in Jun – 32% (mainly adults and after first year birds). Majority of encounters are recorded in Svalbard, NW & N Europe – 61, 18 and 14% respectively. There are very few encounters prior to 1960 (4 cases only, 3 of them based on shot birds).

The majority of encounters after 1960 are from alive birds – 90% for the period 1961-90 and 99% after 1991, which is mostly due to ringing recoveries and colour mark records. Shooting was responsible for just 3% of all encounters during 1961-90 and for less than 1% of all cases after 1991.

Annual Movements for Purple Sandpiper

Post-breeding movements start late Jun-Jul, females usually precede males and adults being ahead of juveniles (Payne & Pierce 2020). Autumn migration is most evident Aug-Oct in N latitudes and Sep-Nov in lower latitudes. Svalbard breeders reach their wintering grounds in the Baltic region and W Europe as early as Sep, mostly in Oct-Nov. Birds breeding in S Norway are encountered in UK in Aug at earliest. The passage birds marked in Iceland (mostly in May) are encountered wintering in the British Isles and W Europe Nov-Mar, in Newfoundland in Dec and in S Greenland – in Oct. Spring migration takes place mostly Apr-May, adults leaving before immatures (Dierschke 2004). The northernmost breeding sites are occupied from late May to mid-Jun (Payne & Pierce 2020).

Tracked birds wintering in NE Scotland revealed their origin in NE Canada (Summers et al. 2014).

Connectivity by Month by Region for Purple Sandpiper

The species has been suggested to perform leap-frog migration in Canadian Arctic/ Greenland, and chain migration in N Europe – the Svalbard and Norwegian breeders move S and are replaced by more northerly population (Russian & Svalbard birds respectively) (Summers 1994). All populations breeding in Scandinavia, NE Europe & W Siberia winter in N & W Europe (Delany et al. 2009), while part of the Canadian breeders – possibly in NW & W Europe (Corse & Summers 1999, Hallgrimsson et al. 2012).

Depending on latitudes, autumn migration takes place between mid- to late summer and mid- to late autumn. Svalbard & N European breeders occupy their wintering grounds in N & W Europe mostly between mid-autumn and mid- to late spring. A bird marked in NW Russia (Murmansk region) was encountered during winter inland Europe (N Serbia). Return migration is evident mostly mid- to late spring.

Recoveries by Condition for Common Crossbill

Overall, most (ca. 95%) recoveries due to birds seen alive, chiefly from ringing. Before 1960, however, most recoveries (ca. 60%) were due to birds found dead (including shot), sick or wounded. This pattern already changed during the period 1961-1990, when the percentage of birds found dead, sick or wounded felt to ca. 30%. From 1990 to present the highest majority of recoveries come from birds recaptured for ringing. 

Annual Movements for Common Crossbill

Irruptions normally happen in summer, when previous year crop is coming to the end and when the new crop is forming. Crossbills captured in passage in Switzerland in Sep, recaptured thereafter in S France/Iberia some months/week later. Breeding occurs in late-winter/spring, when cones open.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Common Crossbill

See ‘Annual movement’.