Migratory movements of juvenile Purple Herons from the Camargue area in France were studied by satellite-tracking. Six juvenile birds were fitted with transmitters in early July 2004. Of these six, four successfully started migration in September. Tracked birds followed a western migratory route, heading out south-south-west, towards Spain, the Balearic Islands and then Algeria. They pursed their flight either south-west to the Moroccan Atlantic coast or straight to Mauritania, flying over the Sahara desert. Flight speed could be estimated for one of the birds and was about 40 kilometres per hour. The results of this study are consistent with previous ring recovery data and provide additional knowledge on the speed and departure date of juvenile Purple Herons during autumn migration.
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1 April 2008
Satellite-Tracking Migrating Juvenile Purple Herons Ardea purpurea from the Camargue Area, France
Elsa Jourdain,
Michel Gauthier-Clerc,
Yves Kayser,
Murielle Lafaye,
Philippe Sabatier
Ardea
Vol. 96 • No. 1
April 2008
Vol. 96 • No. 1
April 2008
autumn migration
Camargue
migration routes
Purple Heron
Satellite-tracking