POST-BREEDING MOVEMENTS OF IBERIAN BLACK STORKS CICONIA NIGRA AS REVEALED BY SATELLITE TRACKING

We explored the post-breeding home range and autumnal migratory movements of a sample of the Iberian black stork Ciconia nigra population. A total of 10 black storks, consisting of 8 nestlings, 1 immature and 1 adult from Portugal (N = 5) and Spain (N = 5) were equipped with satellite transmitters and tracked during the post-breeding period until the autumnal routes were complete. We estimated adaptive kernels to define the size and structure of the home ranges before migrating via the Strait of Gibraltar. Three storks died in Iberia before crossing the Strait of Gibraltar (one immediately after leaving the nest and two during movements across Spain before crossing the Strait of Gibraltar) and the rest moved to winter in Africa. Before crossing the Strait, the total distance travelled during the post-breeding period varied considerably among individuals, ranging from 100 km to more than 800 km. Mean movements per day ranged frpm 1.5 to 26.1 km. The tagged Iberian black storks began autumn migration between mid-September and beginning-October. Most storks flew to the Sahel without stopovers in 2-3 weeks. The mean autumnal migratory distance of all Iberian storks together was +/- SE, 3,673.5 +/- 516 km, and the migration speed was 208.6 +/- 21. We came to the conclusion that the tagged Iberian black storks show large-scale migration routes similar to other European populations.