Dispersal of juvenile and subadult cranes in Germany:
what do they do during their immature period?
Günter Nowald1,
Javier A. Alonso2, Volker Günther1, Thomas
Fichtner1,
Simone Röper1, Anja Kluge1
& Juan C.
Alonso3
1
Kranichinformationszentrum, Gross Mohrdorf
2
Facultad de Biología, Universidad complutense, Madrid
3 Museo N. de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid
Abstract: The social system
of crane families brake at the end of the winter when
the cranes are in the wintering grounds in Spain and southern France however
at the latest in the breeding area. Crane pairs do occupy their known territory
while the immature birds wander around. They begin the less known phase
of their life cycles. We have no information about their use of space, movements,
habitat requirements, sociality and behaviour. And finally where do
they establish as breeding adults? Results of the project are of great importance
for the protection of these birds.
In
the years 2000 and 2001 we made some preliminary searches of immature cranes.
With the help of a light aircraft we tried to locate - first time in Europe
- birds marked with BIOTRACK radio transmitters over Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
northern Germany. During
the first flight at 22.06.2000 we located 16 cranes, 27.05.2001 (flight
distance 805 km) 10 cranes and at 15.06.01 (flight distance 854 km) 9 cranes.
In 2000 56% of the located cranes were found close to the breeding area,
in 2001 64%. No crane were found in Niedersachsen that means west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The greatest distance to the hachting place was xxx km
(Bird Altentreptow?). Several
birds were relocated on ground some days after the flight, to check the
sociality, the sex and the landscape requirements.
This
is a project of "Crane Protection Germany", a working group of German Society
for Nature Conservation (NABU), World Wide Found for Nature (WWF) and Lufthansa
in co-operation with Facultad de Biología,
UCM, Madrid and Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
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