ARANZADI Woodcock
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Woodcock monitoring project through PTT transmitters
MONITORING OF "ARANZADI"
"Aranzadi" is a Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) captured in Gautegiz Arteaga the February 18th 2013 together with "Urdaibai" Woodcock.
This bird is an adult that carries out a PTT monitoring transmitter, which will give information every two hours about the use he does of the Biosphere Reserve of Urdaibai during his wintering and after it will give information about his pre-nuptial migration until his breeding area.
When he was captured, he weighted 340 gr, being excellent his physical state.
From October 26th to November 4th: IN THE VISTYTIS REGIONAL PARK Aranzadi has spent some days in this Regional Park, in Lithuania. Although we can located him inside the limits of the park, he has made daily small flights without repeating place.
Vistytis lake. Author: Hugo.arg.
This park has a surface of 10.100 ha and inside we can find glacial valleys that were formed in the last ice age. Besides, we must remember that inside the park it is the Vistytis lake, known also as the European Baikal for its rich and unique fauna and flora.
Related to the weather, during 26th and 28th October the sky was covered by clouds and some downpours and the temperature hasn't exceeded the 14ºC. From 29th on, has cleared up (so the temperature has gone down a little bit), although the 2nd November has started to rain again. As has happened in Russia, the winter is approaching to these latitudes and we hope that Aranzadi continues soon with his journey towards the south.
October 25th: IN LANDS OF KALININGRADO
Today he has crossed again to Russia to come back later to Lithuania. But don't think that he has returned in his travel, it is just he has entered in Oblast Kaliningrado that belongs to Russia, but it is in the southwest of Lithuania.
It should be pointed out that to arrive in Kaliningrado, he has passed by the Regional Park of Vištyčio, located in the south of Lithuania, Vilkaviškio district that is in the southwest of the border with Poland. It takes up a surface of 108.33 km2, of which the 49% is covered by forests. Inside this park is the Vistytis lake which shares its water with Russia and Lithuania.
From October 20th to 22nd: FLYING OVER THREE COUNTRIES
Since the last signal, Aranzadi has gone to the southwest, passing through the city of Tver, capital of the Oblast Tver. He comes across again with the Volga river in his upper section. After having crossed several Russian regions, he left behind this country and he arrives in Belorussia going into the leafy forests of Vítebsk region. He follows his journey flying over the city of Miadziel, in the north of the region of Minsk, until he finish crossing the border with Lithuania.
Baznycia, Lithuania. Author: Wikipedia. Tver, Lithuania. Author: Insider The October 22nd, he flies over the south of this country. He passes by the south of the capital, Vilna, and he continues to the southwest until he arrives in Varena, close to the National Park of Dzūkijos, the biggest national park in Lithuania. He stops in a leafy pine forest, which are the most representative forest in this region.
In just two days, he has flown 925 kilometres.
From October 18th to 20th: CROSSING RUSSIA TO THE SOUTHWEST
Aranzadi has made almost 400 kilometres in three days, flying over a lot of Russian villages as Mokrusha, Yaroslavl and Tivoto; passing also close to the Ozero Medvezh'ye lake and the big reservoirs of Rybinsk and Gorky.
Reservoir of Gorky, Russia. Author: Bestalex
This imposing river is the biggest and mightiest river in Europe. With its tributaries, irrigates the third surface of European Russia. They were built a lot of reservoirs along the history for electric production as Rybinsk resevoir, known as well as Rybinsk sea, due to the period in which was built, it was the biggest reservoir in the world.
Volga river in Yaroslavl, Russia. Author: Monedula. Rybinsk reservoir, Russia. Author: Игорь Шпиленок
October 18th: BEGINS THE RETURN TRIP
Detail of the trip made by Aranzadi in his return trip. In green colour we can see the one-way trip and in red colour the return trip
5 months have passed since Aranzadi arrived in Russia near the Ural mountains, place that he chose to breed. The breeding period was carried out close to the Moloma river, in the remote Oblast Kirov in Russia. During this time he has lived few kilometres squares of birch forests, conifers and clearings.
After summer, the days are getting shorter and this area has begun to suffer the rigours of winter that is approaching. The thermometer have fallen down under 0ºC and for example, for these days are forecasted snowfalls and maximum temperatures of 1ºC.
Having finished his breeding period, the October 18th, Aranzadi has decided to set out and he has just begun his return trip towards his wintering area.
Currently he is 250 km far from where he has spent the summer, exactly in Nizhni Nóvgorod in Oblast, close to the Vetluga river, tributary of Volga river.
View of the landscape of Vetluzhsky region, where it is located Vetluga city. Author: Евгений Катышев.
Vetluga, Russia. Author: Алексей Белобородов. The route he is following is similar to the one he made in May but in the opposite sense, so we expect that another year will spend the winter among us here in Urdaibai.
From May 10th to 15th: VERKHNYAYA VONDANKA (RUSSIA)
The May 2nd, Aranzadi arrived in the surroundings of Vyatka river, a remote area of Russian taiga in Oblast Kirov. During all those days, Aranzadi has been moving in a confined area of some kilometres squares, moving among forests and clearings. Probably due to the dates we are, it is possible that Aranzadi has reached his breeding area, where he will stay until the egg-laying.
Forests and clearings in Oblast Kirov From May 2nd to 10th: VERKHNYAYA VONDANKA (RUSSIA)
Without leaving the region of Oblast Kirov, but at 100 km in the north of Orlov, the 2nd May, Aranzadi is closed to Vondanka, a very little populated place of Russia that is in the west of Ural mountains.
From April 28th to 30th: ORLOV (RUSSIA)
After having made a stop close to the Russian capital, Aranzadi continues going to the northeast and making a jump of 670 km, he is detected in Orlov, close to the city of Kírov, capital of the Óblast of Kírov, just in the middle of the European Russia. Concretely the data are received from the Vyatka river.
April 25th: BABYMINO, MOSCOW (RUSSIA)
Continuing with his route towards his breeding area, the 25th April, he was 800 km far from Lyuban. He was already in the region of Mocow, a few kilometres far from the great Russian capital. He spent these few days close to the basin of Oká river (curious coincidence!), one of the main tributary of Volga river. He is moving among pastures, pine forests, some towns and isolated farms.
From April 15th to 23rd: LYUBAN, MINSKAYA VOBLASTS (BELORUSSIA)
After his short stay in Poland, Aranzadi crossed the border with Belorussia and in following data we received he was already in the middle of this country, 315 km far from the previous point. This landscape is similar to the previous one, so in this case we can stand out that he spent some days close to the Lyuban lake among forests and crops.
April 13rd: TRESCIANKA, HAJNÓWKA (POLAND)
He has left behind France and he makes a jump of 1.320 km to make a short stop in Poland. The 13rd April we received some data from the region of Hajnówka, close to the cities of Soce and Gmina Narew that are near the amazing Natural Park of Bialowieza forest. This area is full of mixed-forests of wild pine and a great variety of deciduous, where the undergrowth can be very thick; an excellent place to shelter during the day. Near these forests, the crops and fields for livestock are also very important.
From March 22nd to April 8th: MONTBELIARD (FRANCE)
Having crossed all France and avoiding the Alps by the north, he stops close to the cities of Montbeliard and Audincourt, 872 km far from his wintering area. He is still in France, close to the Swiss border. Small woods, crops and residential areas is the landscape of this area. In this place, Aranzadi stays 19 days, feeding in open areas during the night and sheltering in small woods close to the city during the day.
February 18th: Gautegiz Arteaga. Capture data and one month stay in Urdaibai The capture for positioning of the monitoring transmitter was made in some pastures of Gautegiz Arteaga the 18th February 2013. The chosen area for the capture of the Woodcock is a farmland located in the borders of the hunting areas of Urdaibai, so in those areas the hunting is forbidden. Furthermore, it was elected this day, because in that time, the period for hunting was closed for this appreciated and known species for hunters; all these was taken into account, in order to avoid that the Woodcock would be hunted and he could make his return journey to his breeding areas.
Along all this month, the data reception has been constant and we can clearly seen the habits of these evasive birds. The Woodcock is a wader species with nocturnal habits. While he was in Urdaibai we could clearly seen that during the day he was sheltered inside the impenetrable holm-oak wood, near the capture place. The evening he left the forest and he approached to pasture areas to feed during the small hours, remaining there until the first lights of the day. On the other hand, it is curious that sometimes, Aranzadi has crossed the estuary and he has been detected at night feeding in areas of Busturia and Murueta.
Pastures where Aranzadi has been feeding
Shelter area in the holm-oak wood during the day
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