The ultimate Migration
Newsletter, 01.09.2014
Airfield Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy
Dear Friends of the LIFE+ Northern Bald Ibis project,
within five days, we´ve crossed the Alps, the Karawank´s Mountain Region, the Po Valley and the Apennines. The last of the three flight stages took us from Valle Gaffaro south of the Po Delta to the airport Borgo San Lorenzo, about 20 km north east of Florence.
The last flight along a distance of around 150 km took us 2:30 hours; supported by wind we reached an average speed of almost 60 km / h. Again, the birds flew reliably and motivated and followed the aircraft to an altitude of more than 1000 m msl.
Mostly, the birds are still flying very close to the microlight, but in the course of the migration they increasingly started to fly in formation or used thermic lifts whenever possible.
During the flights all birds carry low weight data loggers that record second by second the position of the birds as well as the 3D movement intensity (accelerometry). This data acquisition is done in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Radolfzell and the University of Oxford. A first data collection of 2011 could already be pubished in NATURE, but the actual dataset will allow an even more extensive analysis.
According to the daily weight checks, the birds have lost some weight during the migration journey. However, according to our past years’ experiences, they are still in a good condition. Nevertheless, we decided to make a break in favour of both the birds and the team before we start the final flight down to the WWF Oasi Laguna di Orbetello. We also want to wait for the film crew that meanwhile has returned to Germany. They will join us again with their helicopter on Monday. Due to a weather change, the final flight will probably be somewhat delayed. We won´t continue before next Tuesday.
Our birds are still following the microlight reliably and in a motivated way.
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