This year we have fitted 5 more satellite transmitters to sooty falcons, 4 adults and one juvenile. Right now they are all near their nesting places as we are right in the middle of the fledging period, with some young birds flying and others set to take off in the next days. Below is a picture of the juvenile bird. Its mother also has a transmitter.
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| Juvenile sooty falcon with satellite transmitter, alphanumeric and microchip rings |
These birds will likely not leave for their wintering grounds until November or so. While we are waiting, we'll try to give you some information so you can better understand the birds and the maps you will see. Below is a map of the movements of the five birds. As you can see they cluster around the islands, but they also seem to move around a bit. One bird seems to have made at least one visit to the mainland. This is not unlikely because that bird is an adult female,and her three young are hungry and flying. So, she might be ranging wider in search of food.
Also, you will notice that the spread of locations is greater east to west than north to south. That is an artifact of the satellites that track these birds. These are not gps tags because gps tags would be too heavy for the falcons. These 12 g tags use the Argos satellite system, and those satellites orbit over the poles. This means that the potential for inaccuracy is greater in the east to west direction than the north to south.
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| Locations of sooty falcons fitted with satellite transmitters. |
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