Origin and migration of woodcock Scolopax rusticola wintering in Spain

Woodcock Scolopax rusticola is an important game species in Northern Spain, where it is mainly a wintering species. Knowledge about the migration and origin of the woodcock wintering in Spain is relatively sparse, existing to date only qualitative analyses dating more than a decade. From the analyses of ringing recoveries of woodcock wintering in Spain, we evaluate the relative importance of various countries or regions as sources of the woodcock wintering in Spain, an estimate of their migratory route. Our analyses show the Circum-Baltic Region to be the most important breeding area of the woodcock wintering in Spain. Within that area, both Sweden and Western Russia appear to be particularly important. Analyses of the ringing locations of woodcock ringed during migration and recovered in Spain in winter suggest that woodcock wintering in Spain migrate primarily through the South of the Baltic Sea, Germany and France. The proportion of woodcock ringed in different French regions during the postnuptial migration months (October and November) that was subsequently recovered in Spain (mainly through hunting) declined with the proportion of those birds that was recovered in France (also mainly through hunting). We discuss the management implications of these results.     

Migration timing and routes,and wintering areas of Flammulated Owls

Determining patterns in annual movements of animals is an important component of population ecology, particularly for migratory birds where migration timing and routes, and wintering habitats have key bearing on population dynamics. From 2009 to 2011, we used light‐level geolocators to document the migratory movements of Flammulated Owls (Psiloscops flammeolus). Four males departed from breeding areas in Colorado for fall migration between ≤5 and 21 October, arrived in wintering areas in Mexico between 11 October and 3 November, departed from wintering areas from ≤6 to 21 April, and returned to Colorado between 15 and 21 May. Core wintering areas for three males were located in the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt Mountains in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, and Puebla in central and east‐central Mexico, and the core area for the other male was in the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains in Tamaulipas. The mean distance from breeding to wintering centroids was 2057 ± 128 km (SE). During fall migration, two males took a southeastern path to eastern Mexico, and two males took a path due south to central Mexico. In contrast, during spring migration, all four males traveled north from Mexico along the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains to the Rio Grande Valley and north through New Mexico. The first stopovers in fall and last stopovers in spring were the longest in duration for all males and located 300–400 km from breeding areas. Final spring stopovers may have allowed male Flammulated Owls to fine tune the timing of their return to high‐elevation breeding areas where late snows are not uncommon. One male tracked in both years had similar migration routes, timing, and wintering areas each year. Core wintering and final stopover areas were located primarily in coniferous forests and woodlands, particularly pine‐oak forests, suggesting that these are important habitats for Flammulated Owls throughout their annual cycle.     

Spatial heterogeneity in mortality and its impact on the population dynamics of Eurasian woodcocks

Spatial heterogeneity, especially in mortality risk, is a major factor shaping population dynamics. Here we study the impacts of spatial heterogeneity in hunting pressure on the demography of Eurasian woodcock Scolopax rusticola, a relatively long-lived migratory game bird. We develop capture–recapture–recovery models in which both seasonality and spatial variation in hunting pressure are accounted for, and fit them to individual-based data collected across the French wintering range (>44000 banded individuals) as well as recoveries from spring stopovers and breeding grounds in Europe. Our results quantify spatial variation in survival probability in the wintering areas. They highlight the role of source-sink dynamics involving juvenile settlement decisions, as well as the importance of mortality outside the winter quarters. We also discuss the impact of spatial heterogeneity for demographic parameter estimation and data collection at the range scale.     

Routes of migrating soaring birds

Soaring migrants travelling through Israel use three principal routes which are used in the opposite directions during the spring and autumn: (1) the Western Route lies mainly along the western edge of the central mountain range, (2) the Eastern Route lies mainly along the Jordan Valley, crossing the mountain range during part of the day, continuing southward along the Dead Sea towards the Sinai, and joining the Western Route in autumn and (3) the Southern-Elat Mountains Route. The geomorphological structure of Israel, with a central mountain range dividing the country roughly into three landscape units, plays a central role in route selection. In the autumn, the Western Route migration axis is deflected at the beginning of the day from east to west for 10–25 km, depending on weather conditions and the flock's roosting locations. Between 10.00 h and 11.00 h, the daily breeze blowing from the Mediterranean Sea influences the migration axis, which is slowly deflected back to the east. A parallel deflection of the migration axis occurs in the Eastern Route in the autumn. The route moves southwest over the eastern slopes of the central mountain range during the morning hours and over the slope, which absorbs direct radiation from the sun, creating good soaring conditions. Towards late afternoon, when the breeze from the sea starts, the axis is deflected to the east, to the Jordan Valley. In the Elat Mountains, the wind flow plays a similar role, but because the topography of the southern Arava Valley causes a change in wind direction, the axis moves during the day in a north-south direction. In addition to the axis movement on a daily scale, a seasonal deflection of the migration axis from east to west also exists. During autumn migration, early migrants (e.g. White Storks Ciconia ciconia) tend to travel on an eastern route, while late migrants (e.g. White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus) travel along the Mediterranean coast. This fluctuation was probably because of sub-optimal soaring conditions along the coastal plain during August. In September, temperature differences between the sea and land decrease and the influence of the marine inversion gradually declines, until its influence disappears completely in October. A comparison of the numbers of soaring birds seen over Israel in the autumn and spring shows significant seasonal differences in the use of the various routes. For example, only one species, the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, flies over the Elat Mountains in the autumn, compared to more than 30 species in the spring. In the autumn, White Storks pass over only along the Jordan Valley axis, whereas in the spring, about half the migrating storks also pass over the western edge of the central mountain range. Honey Buzzards Pernis apivorus fly along the Western Route in large numbers in the autumn, while concentrating almost totally over the Elat Mountains in the spring. These differences are related to the global migration routes between the breeding and the wintering grounds in relation to the Red Sea, which birds avoid crossing, thus causing them to follow different routes in autumn, and spring.     

Annual Cycle and Migration Strategies of a Trans-Saharan Migratory Songbird: A Geolocator Study in the Great Reed Warbler

Recent technological advancements now allow us to obtain geographical position data for a wide range of animal movements. Here we used light-level geolocators to study the annual migration cycle in great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a passerine bird breeding in Eurasia and wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. We were specifically interested in seasonal strategies in routes and schedules of migration. We found that the great reed warblers (all males, no females were included) migrated from the Swedish breeding site in early August. After spending up to three weeks at scattered stopover sites in central to south-eastern Europe, they resumed migration and crossed the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert without lengthy stopovers. They then spread out over a large overwintering area and each bird utilised two (or even three) main wintering sites that were spatially separated by a distinct mid-winter movement. Spring migration initiation date differed widely between individuals (1-27 April). Several males took a more westerly route over the Sahara in spring than in autumn, and in general there were fewer long-distance travels and more frequent shorter stopovers, including one in northern Africa, in spring. The shorter stopovers made spring migration on average faster than autumn migration. There was a strong correlation between the spring departure dates from wintering sites and the arrival dates at the breeding ground. All males had a high migration speed in spring despite large variation in departure dates, indicating a time-minimization strategy to achieve an early arrival at the breeding site; the latter being decisive for high reproductive success in great reed warblers. Our results have important implications for the understanding of long-distance migrants’ ability to predict conditions at distant breeding sites and adapt to rapid environmental change.     

American Woodcock Fall Migration Using Central Region Band-Recovery and Wing-Collection Survey Data

ABSTRACT Band-recovery and wing-collection survey data have the potential to provide information on American woodcock (Scolopax minor) fall migration ecology in the Central Region of the United States, yet researchers have not recently analyzed these extensive data sets. We analyzed all direct recoveries of woodcock banded in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, USA, as well as wing-collection survey data, to determine the progression of fall migration, the migration direction, and the final destination of woodcock migrating from these states. We did not observe migration initiation based on band recoveries until late October and early November, with most migration occurring during November. Wing-receipt data showed a similar trend, with most change in mean receipt latitude occurring from 1 November to 5 December. During November, wing receipts were spread through the entire Central Region. By 15–31 December, 92% (n = 26) of band recoveries were on the wintering grounds (south of latitude 33°N). Most banded woodcock from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin wintered in Louisiana, USA. Woodcock banded in these states will be exposed to harvest for most of the hunting season because they remain in these states through November. If the population status of local birds is a concern, managers should consider this migration pattern when setting season dates.     

Investigating connectivity and seasonal differences in wind assistance in the migration of Common Sandpipers

Many migratory bird species have undergone recent population declines, but there is considerable variation in trends between species and between populations employing different migratory routes. Understanding species-specific migratory behaviours is therefore of critical importance for their conservation. The Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos is an Afro-Palaearctic migratory bird species whose European populations are in decline. We fitted geolocators to individuals breeding in England or wintering in Senegal to determine their migration routes and breeding or non-breeding locations. We used these geolocator data in combination with previously published data from Scottish breeding birds to determine the distributions and migratory connectivity of breeding (English and Scottish) and wintering (Senegalese) populations of the Common Sandpiper, and used simulated random migrations to investigate wind assistance during autumn and spring migration. We revealed that the Common Sandpipers tagged in England spent the winter in West Africa, and that at least some birds wintering in Senegal bred in Scandinavia; this provides insights into the links between European breeding populations and their wintering grounds. Furthermore, birds tagged in England, Scotland and Senegal overlapped considerably in their migration routes and wintering locations, meaning that local breeding populations could be buffered against habitat change, but susceptible to large-scale environmental changes. These findings also suggest that contrasting population trends in England and Scotland are unlikely to be the result of population-specific migration routes and wintering regions. Finally, we found that birds used wind to facilitate their migration in autumn, but less so in spring, when the wind costs associated with their migrations were higher than expected at random. This was despite the wind costs of simulated migrations being significantly lower in spring than in autumn. Indeed, theory suggests that individuals are under greater time pressures in spring than in autumn because of the time constraints associated with reproduction.     

Around the Mediterranean: an extreme example of loop migration in a long‐distance migratory passerine

An important issue in migration research is how small‐bodied passerines pass over vast geographical barriers; in European–African avian migration, these are represented by the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. Eastern (passing eastern Mediterranean), central (passing Apennine Peninsula) and western (via western Mediterranean) major migration flyways are distinguished for European migratory birds. The autumn and spring migration routes may differ (loop migration) and there could be a certain level of individual flexibility in how individuals navigate themselves during a single migration cycle. We used light‐level loggers to map migration routes of barn swallows Hirundo rustica breeding in the centre of a wide putative contact zone between the northeastern and southernwestern European populations that differ in migration flyways utilised and wintering grounds. Our data documented high variation in migration patterns and wintering sites of tracked birds (n = 19 individuals) from a single breeding colony, with evidence for loop migration in all but one of the tracked swallows. In general, two migratory strategies were distinguished. In the first, birds wintering in a belt stretching from southcentral to southern Africa that used an eastern route for both the spring and autumn migration, then shifted their spring migration eastwards (anti‐clockwise loops, n = 12). In the second, birds used an eastern or central route to their wintering grounds in central Africa, shifting the spring migration route westward (clockwise loops, n = 7). In addition, we observed an extremely wide clockwise loop migration encompassing the entire Mediterranean, with one individual utilising both the eastern (autumn) and western (spring) migratory flyway during a single annual migration cycle. Further investigation is needed to ascertain whether clockwise migratory loops encircling the entire Mediterranean also occur other small long‐distance passerine species.     

Geolocators reveal migratory connectivity between wintering and breeding areas of Golden‐winged Warblers

The conservation of migratory songbirds is often impeded by a lack of understanding of how populations in breeding and wintering areas are geographically linked (migratory connectivity). In recent years, light‐level geolocators have improved our understanding of migratory connectivity. Such information is valuable for evaluating how conservation efforts align between the breeding and non‐breeding areas of at‐risk species, and help to more effectively prioritize the allocation of conservation funding. Golden‐winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are imperiled migratory songbirds, but the extent to which conservation efforts in their breeding and non‐breeding areas coincide with patterns of migratory connectivity are not well known. We used light‐level geolocators to evaluate the extent to which conservation actions targeting Golden‐winged Warblers in Nicaragua and in their breeding range in North America align with patterns of migratory connectivity. We recovered six of 22 geolocators that had been deployed on male Golden‐winged Warblers at the El Jaguar Reserve during the winter of 2015–2016. All six males migrated to breeding areas in the western Great Lakes region that includes eastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, southwestern Ontario, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. All six males also had similar migration routes, with spring stopovers in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, a trans‐Gulf flight, and a stopover in the region of Louisiana, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, and Texas. Our results, in combination with those of previous studies, demonstrate strong migratory connectivity between portions of the breeding and winter distributions of Golden‐winged Warblers currently targeted for conservation. However, additional studies are needed to improve our understanding of the stopover ecology of Golden‐winged Warblers, especially in areas where they remain for extended periods of time. Finally, patterns of migratory connectivity revealed in our study should be used in combination with existing demographic parameters for Golden‐winged Warblers in the western Great Lakes and Nicaragua to help inform full life cycle population models for this imperiled songbird.     

Migration strategies and annual space‐use in an Afro‐Palaearctic aerial insectivore – the European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

Obligate insectivorous birds breeding in high latitudes travel thousands of kilometres during annual movements to track the local seasonal peaks of food abundance in a continuously fluctuating resource landscape. Avian migrants use an array of strategies when conducting these movements depending on e.g. morphology, life history traits and environmental factors encountered en route. Here we used geolocators to derive data on the annual space‐use, temporal pattern and migratory strategies in an Afro‐Palaearctic aerial insectivorous bird species – the European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. More specifically, we aimed to test a set of hypothesises pertaining to the migration of a population of nightjars breeding in south‐eastern Sweden. We found that the birds wintered across the central and western parts of the southern tropical Africa almost entirely outside the currently described wintering range of the species. The nightjars performed a narrow loop migration across Sahara, with spring Sahel stopovers significantly to the west of autumn stops indicative to an adaptive response to winds during migration. To our surprise, the migration speed was faster in the autumn (119 km d^{? 1}) than in the spring (99 km d^{? 1}), possibly due to the prevailing wind regimes over the Sahara. The estimated flight fraction in both autumn (14%) and spring (12%) was almost exactly as the theoretically predicted 1:7 time relationship between flights and stopovers for small birds. The temporal patterns within the annual cycle indicate that individuals follow alternative spatiotemporal schedules that converge towards the breeding season. The positive relationship between the spatially and temporally distant winter departure and breeding arrival suggests that individuals´ temporal fine‐tuning to breeding may be constrained, leading to potential negative fitness consequences.     

Towards a new understanding of migration timing: slower spring than autumn migration in geese reflects different decision rules for stopover use and departure

According to migration theory and several empirical studies, long‐distance migrants are more time‐limited during spring migration and should therefore migrate faster in spring than in autumn. Competition for the best breeding sites is supposed to be the main driver, but timing of migration is often also influenced by environmental factors such as food availability and wind conditions. Using GPS tags, we tracked 65 greater white‐fronted geese Anser albifrons migrating between western Europe and the Russian Arctic during spring and autumn migration over six different years. Contrary to theory, our birds took considerably longer for spring migration (83 days) than autumn migration (42 days). This difference in duration was mainly determined by time spent at stopovers. Timing and space use during migration suggest that the birds were using different strategies in the two seasons: In spring they spread out in a wide front to acquire extra energy stores in many successive stopover sites (to fuel capital breeding), which is in accordance with previous results that white‐fronted geese follow the green wave of spring growth. In autumn they filled up their stores close to the breeding grounds and waited for supportive wind conditions to quickly move to their wintering grounds. Selection for supportive winds was stronger in autumn, when general wind conditions were less favourable than in spring, leading to similar flight speeds in the two seasons. In combination with less stopover time in autumn this led to faster autumn than spring migration. White‐fronted geese thus differ from theory that spring migration is faster than autumn migration. We expect our findings of different decision rules between the two migratory seasons to apply more generally, in particular in large birds in which capital breeding is common, and in birds that meet other environmental conditions along their migration route in autumn than in spring.     

Seasonal migration strategies of Common Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula

How individual birds schedule their movements and use different sites during the non‐breeding season are fundamental issues in avian migration ecology, and studies have often revealed strong seasonal variation in such strategies. Using geolocators we tracked Common Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula from northern Norway to West Africa and back to assess whether there were differences in migratory speed, duration and stopover use between autumn and spring migration and whether birds used multiple sites during the non‐breeding season. Although the pace of migration was similar between autumn and spring, the length of flight bouts and duration of the preceding stopovers were positively correlated only in autumn. Four of five birds showed a marked southward movement in mid‐winter.     

Migration of the Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius breeding in South Sweden tracked by geolocators

Capsule Little Ringed Plovers breeding in South Sweden migrate towards the southeast in the autumn, via the Middle East, to winter in Saharan and sub-Saharan locations or in India, while the spring migration is more directly towards the north.

Aims To study the migration routes and wintering area of Little Ringed Plovers (Charadrius dubius) breeding in South Sweden, and to investigate the migration strategy and speed for this little studied shorebird.

Methods We use light-level geolocators to track the year-round movements of Little Ringed Plovers breeding in South Sweden.

Results Autumn migration proceeded towards the southeast, in three birds via lengthy stopovers in the Middle East, followed by movements towards the west and southwest to final winter destinations in Africa, while one male made a long stopover in northwestern Iran before migrating to India. The birds wintering in Africa probably stayed at freshwater locations in the Sahara or just south or north of the Sahara. Spring migration was more directly back to the breeding area. Overall migration speeds were similar during autumn and spring migration at about 189 and 209?km/day, respectively. The migration was carried out mainly as many short flights between stopovers. In particular, autumn migration was longer than the direct distance between breeding and wintering sites.

Conclusions This study shows that the geolocator method can successfully be used with relatively small (40?g) shorebirds. We found that a local population of Little Ringed Plover may have widely differing wintering sites (low connectivity), from sub-Saharan Africa to the Indian subcontinent. The migration strategy of the Little Ringed Plover, with multiple short flights, deviates from that of many other long-distance migrating shorebirds that, instead, make one or a few long flights.     

Faster spring migration in northern wheatears is not explained by an endogenous seasonal difference in refueling rates

A widespread phenomenon in migrant birds is that they travel faster in spring than in autumn. During migration birds spend most time at stopover sites and, correspondingly, the faster spring migration is mainly explained by shorter stopovers in spring than autumn. Because a main purpose of stopovers is to replenish the fuel used in flight, a higher rate of fuel deposition (FDR) in spring is thought to explain the shorter stopovers and hence shorter total duration of migration in spring. Critical migratory processes, including the onset and extent of pre‐migratory fueling, are endogenously regulated. It is therefore not unlikely that refueling at stopover sites is, at least partly, also under endogenous control. We here tested whether there is an endogenous seasonal difference in food intake and FDR, which could contribute to shorter stopovers and hence faster migration in spring. We measured daily food intake and daily FDR in two subspecies of the northern wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe, temporarily confined at stopover under identical constant indoor conditions in spring and autumn. The two wheatear subspecies differed markedly in absolute food intake and FDR. Within subspecies, however, food intake and FDR did not differ between spring and autumn, indicating that faster spring migration in northern wheatears is not explained by an endogenously controlled seasonal difference in birds’ motivation to refuel. To further substantiate this claim, similar measurements should be taken at other locations along northern wheatears’ migration routes. Comparable experiments in other species could test the generality of our results.     

Seasonal variation in the sex and age composition of the woodcock bag in Denmark

The Eurasian woodcock is a highly valued game bird in Western Europe from which c. 2.7 million individuals are harvested annually from an estimated population of 20–26 million birds. The population size and status remains uncertain due to the cryptic behaviour and widespread and solitary occurrence of woodcock, on breeding and wintering areas, making reliable population surveys difficult. Hunting bag records provide age ratios amongst bagged birds, but sex ratios remain poorly known because of the sexually monomorphic nature of this species. We used DNA analysis to determine sex ratios amongst 327 shot woodcocks from two hunting seasons in Denmark (1 October–31 January, 2012/13 and 2013/14). Based on bag totals, age ratios and sex ratios, juvenile females constituted 37%, juvenile males 27%, adult females 16% and adult males 20% of the annual woodcock bag. The female bias was related to a significant deviation from parity in the sex ratio amongst juvenile birds in October, although no such deviation was found at other times or amongst adults. Compared to limited data from other European countries, our data suggest that autumn migration of woodcock involves an initial wave of juvenile females followed by juvenile males and adults, and perhaps that males stay further north in Europe than females during autumn and winter. This migratory pattern would suggest that postponing the opening of the hunting season could reduce the hunting bag on reproductively valuable females in this polygamous species.     

Acorn and aquatic invertebrate biomass in Mississippi Alluvial Valley hardwood bottomlands

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is an internationally important migration and wintering region for Nearctic waterfowl. Most of the MAV is a lowland forested floodplain that contains vast stands of red oaks (Quercus spp.). These trees produce acorns and, when forests flood, diverse communities of aquatic invertebrates emerge, providing diverse nutritious foods for wintering ducks. The MAV is within the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture (LMV JV) region of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, but no combined MAV-wide estimates of acorn and invertebrate biomass exist to determine foraging carrying capacity for conservation planning or actions by the LMV JV or other partners in regions containing southern red oaks. We sampled acorns that fell to the ground or were submersed under shallow water deemed accessible to foraging ducks and aquatic invertebrates in the MAV of Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, USA, during fall-winter 2009–2011. In good and poor masting years, acorn abundance was non-linearly related to the percentage of the forest canopy made up of red oaks and peaked in late autumn or winter when most other waterfowl resources are depleted or decomposed. This finding is novel and represents a deviation from how the LMV JV has traditionally assumed food resources exist for waterfowl in hardwood bottomlands. We used a daily ration model to estimate energy use days (EUDs) from combined acorn and invertebrate biomasses relative to red oak canopy coverage. For good and poor acorn masting years at the mean MAV-wide red oak canopy coverage of 45%, EUD = 2,273.1 days/ha and 161.2 days/ha, respectively. The LMV JV currently uses EUD = 385–502 days/ha for forests with 40–50% red oak canopy coverage. Because acorns and aquatic macro-invertebrates are a food resource that persists through winter and reaches peak abundance later in winter, we contend conservation planners have undervalued the potential of bottomland hardwoods to provide energy for wintering ducks.     

Seasonal variation in carcass composition of American Wigeon wintering in the Southern High Plains

ABSTRACT.   Studies of the dynamics of carcass components are critical to understanding survival and reproduction in waterfowl. Here, we examined the influence of sex, age, and season on the carcass composition of American Wigeon ( Anas americana ) in the Southern High Plains (SHP) of Texas during the migration and wintering periods. Wigeon ( N = 621) were collected from late fall through early spring, and carcass components (lipid, protein, and mineral) were estimated for each bird. Overall, carcass mass and lipids increased from autumn to early or midwinter and declined thereafter. However, over-winter changes in carcass reserves differed among sex and age groups. Wigeon of different sex and age groups maintained lipid and protein reserves to different degrees and used those reserves through the winter at different rates. The lack of premigratory fattening suggests that wigeon in the SHP must obtain most of the resources necessary for reproduction en route to breeding grounds, and highlights the importance of suitable stopover locations on their migratory routes. Changes in mean structural size of wigeon sampled during the nonbreeding season, in conjunction with genetic data, suggest that the wintering population in the SHP was composed of birds from several breeding populations. Our research will aid migratory bird biologists in determining how wigeon that differ in sex and age meet their over-winter resource needs, and in evaluating the responses of wigeon to habitat conservation and management efforts.     

Migration routes and stopover sites of Black-necked Cranes determined by satellite tracking

ABSTRACT.   Because their breeding and wintering areas are in remote locations, little is known about the biology of Black-necked Cranes ( Grus nigricollis ), including their migratory behavior. Using satellite telemetry, we monitored the migration of Black-necked Cranes ( N = 6) in China to determine migration routes and the location of stopover sites. From 2005 to 2007, four cranes were tracked during two spring migrations and one fall migration, one was tracked during one spring and one fall migration, and one was tracked during one spring migration. On average, the cranes made seven flights over a 5-d period to migrate 651 km to breeding areas in the spring. In the fall, birds averaged six flights in 5 d to migrate 694 km. The routes traveled by cranes during spring and autumn migration were similar. Both the migration distances and duration of migration are the shortest reported for any crane species to date. Most stopover sites were in areas along rivers and close to wetlands in the Daliang Mountains and the Ruoergai Plateau. Conservation measures are needed to reduce habitat loss (wetland and pasture) in the Daliang Mountains and establish a reserve for stopover sites in the Ruoergai marshes, such as Longriba and Bai River in Hongyuan County.     

Potential oversummering and overwintering regions for the wheat stripe rust pathogen in the contiguous United States

Epidemics of wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), are more frequent in the regions where Pst can oversummer and overwinter. Regions for potential oversummering and overwintering of Pst were determined in the contiguous United States using a survival index (SI) ranging from 0 (most unfavorable) to 10 (most favorable) developed based on long-term weather data. The pathogen can survive in cool summer in the most regions north of latitude 40°N, particularly Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and California. Due to limiting high temperatures, it survives marginally during summer in Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Texas. Similarly, unfavorable hot summer restricts summer survival of the pathogen in the most regions south of 40°N except for highlands in the Rocky or Appalachian Mountains. Warm winters favor fungal survival in most regions south of 40°N and the Pacific Coast, including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. Severe winters do not allow survival in most regions north of 40°N and east of the Rocky Mountains, whereas less severe winter in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia permits marginal survival of Pst. Most wheat-growing regions have climatic suitability for either oversummering or overwintering. Both oversummering and overwintering can occur in the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Oregon and Washington), Arizona, California, North Carolina, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. These regions may provide primary inoculum for stripe rust epidemics in their own and surrounding regions.     

Fall Migration and Habitat Use of American Woodcock in the Central United States

Abstract: Little is known about the migration ecology of the American woodcock (Scolopax minor). From 2001 to 2003, we began a 3-year study to document woodcock fall migration routes, rates, and habitat use from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, USA. Some 586 radiomarked woodcock initiated migration. During 224 hours of aerial telemetry, we located 42 radiomarked woodcock in 6 states. Using locations of radiomarked birds, we speculated woodcock migration routes in the central United States. Stopover duration often exceeded 4 days, with some birds stopping longer than a week. Radiomarked birds were located in upland habitats more frequently than bottomland habitats, and used a higher proportion of mature forest than expected. A Geographic Information System was used to map potential woodcock habitat in the Central Region. Based on our results, we identified possible fall migration routes and priority areas for woodcock management in the Central Region. Our results should be used by land managers to prioritize future land acquisition and management of woodcock habitat.