The majority of Palaearctic birds have now completed breeding and are both heading south, dispersing in the community or going into moult. Lots of the birds now heading south are in a horrible state, in a position to drop the previous feathers and exchange them with new ones. Some get started the moult, then pause it with a purpose to migrate and entire it within the iciness quarters. All this is sensible. Migrate south as the times begin to get shorter and don’t go away it till it’s too past due. Shorter days imply much less feeding time and also you indubitably don’t need to have to lift a brood in the ones stipulations. One mouth is sufficient to feed with the shortening days.
However there’s one chook that is going utterly in opposition to the grain and exactly begins breeding at this time. I’m relating to the Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae). The chook derives its title from Queen Eleonor of Arborea, Sardinia. In 1392 she changed into the primary ruler in historical past to give protection to the nests of those falcons in opposition to unlawful hunters. Sardinia, nowadays, stays a big island for this species, with an excessively huge colony on San Pietro Island (simply off the SW coast), that holds 115 breeding pairs in simply 7 km of sea coast.
This chook arrives to the Mediterranean and adjoining islands (e.g. Lanzarote within the Canaries) in past due spring from wintering grounds in Madagascar. Eleonora’s is actually a big, long-winged pastime, which spends lots of the 12 months searching bugs within the air. In truth, that’s what they do once they arrive. Many then will pass to inland websites the place they commit their time to catching dragonflies and different huge airborne bugs. This side in their behaviour isn’t typically recognized and it’s sudden to search out that one of the most highest websites to peer this species within the early a part of the season are, in truth, smartly clear of the coast.
Come August and it’s time to move for the breeding colonies on islands. As September approaches, Eleonora’s Falcons alternate their feeding behavior. Now they focal point virtually solely on searching small passerines, which they catch within the air, ideally over the ocean the place the prey has little probability of get away. What they’re doing is capitalising at the waves of migratory birds that are leaving the Palaearctic breeding grounds and heading for iciness quarters in tropical Africa. This is a chance like no different and Eleonora’s has taken it when no different raptor has performed so.
Right here now we have an ideal instance of specialized adaptation to a selected meals useful resource. Quite a lot of research on the breeding colonies have printed the variety of birds which Eleonora’s will take. In Essaouira (Mogador), off the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the primary prey species have been Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator), Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) and Not unusual Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus). On the jap finish of the Mediterranean, in Crete, it used to be Pink-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Noticed Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), Whinchat (Saxiola rubetra), and Whitethroat.
Because the chicks fledge, against the tip of October and into early November, adults and juveniles head off for Madagascar to spend the iciness catching huge bugs within the air. Contemporary monitoring research have printed that, opposite to what have been as soon as idea, those birds will make a quick, diagonal, crossing of the Sahara to succeed in jap Africa and the shores of the Indian Ocean, ahead of the general push to Madagascar. However, for now, they’re right here with us and we will have to take advantage of playing those glorious birds.
