Start of HLM 2016
Newsletter 20/08/2016
On August 19 we tackled the first stage of the human-led migration 2016. At 10:30, we took off from Camp Brunn in Seekirchen with two microlights and 25 birds – one bird wasn´t able to fly with us due to an injury.
The tour (170 km, 3.25 hours) led us along various mountain ranges towards south, then along the valley of river Salzach towards west to Bramberg am Wildkogel. Thanks to a constant tailwind we were able to reach an average flight speed of 52 km/h and a top speed of 78 km/h.
The birds flew marvellously, already partly forming V-formations during flight and making use of the thermal lift. During our flight over a ridge in the valley of river Salzach we were confronted with two Golden Eagles that repeatedly attacked our birds. They reacted very good, dodged the eagles and re-joined us shortly after that. Walter and Anne, after digesting the first shock, decided to trail the eagles, which stopped them attacking our birds. Three of them were shortly missing after this incident, but soon they reunited with the rest of the group and our journey continued.
After a two days break we´re planning to continue our trip on Monday, tackling a longer stage along the Zillertal, across the main chain of the Alps and the Dolomites to Belluno. Within five flight stages, we´ll be covering the distance of around 1,000 km to the wintering area in southern Tuscany. The team includes 17 people with six cars, three trailers and two microlights. For the birds we´re bringing along an aviary (9x12 m), which can be (dis)assembled within 1.5 hours.
We´ll be collecting data during the human-led migration. Firstly, all the birds are equipped with data loggers that register up to 10 data points per second and allow a detailed analysis of the flight technique and group dynamics. Additionally, we will be taking blood samples of some birds in order to analyse the physiological and hormonal regulation of migration flights. Furthermore, all birds are equipped with radio tags, so they can be found again should they get lost.
Click here to get to our Newsletter archive.
