Do ringing numbers reflect true migratory activity of nocturnal migrants?

Abstract

SummaryIn autumn 1998, nocturnal bird migration at Falsterbo was recorded over a period of three months by means of a passive infrared device. At the same place a standardised trapping scheme is in operation. This study reveals for the first time a positive correlation between the migratory intensity of birds aloft and the numbers of trapped birds. By relating the migratory patterns of single species with the nocturnal migratory intensities, we show that the species composition aloft can at least partly be deduced from the number of grounded birds. The numbers of trapped pre‐Saharan migrants were related more strongly to the migratory intensity of the preceding night than were the numbers of trans‐Saharan migrants. Assuming that the number of trapped birds varies according to the weather to the same ­extent as the migratory intensity of birds aloft, we conclude that in shorter range migrants the decision to engage in a migratory flight is influenced more strongly by weather conditions, and that the migratory activity of trans‐Saharan migrants is possibly more intensely controlled by their endogenous migratory urge.