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Seasonal Migrations and Population Dynamics of the Long-Eared Owl (Asio otus, Strigiformes, Strigidae) Based on 60-Year-Long Trap** and Ringing in the Eastern Baltic

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Abstract

Based on the results of trap** and ringing long-eared owls on the Curonian Spit in Kaliningrad oblast in the amount of 3391 individuals during 1957–2016, the population numbers, the migration routes and wintering grounds, the age structure, and the causes of bird death were studied. The overall efficiency of ringing was 3.01%, but the number of ring recoveries decreased significantly over time. The annual number of long-eared owls captured varied widely over 60 years, from 1 to 365 individuals. The oscillations were wave-like in nature and showed different amplitudes. In this regard, we discuss the numbers of long-eared owls and the degree of their territorial mobility in relation to abundance variations in the voles as their main food objects. Among the migrating owls, immature individuals (83%) and females (65%) predominated, and the longevity record was 16 years and 3 months. Of all 102 ring recoveries, only 16 birds were found alive. The main direction of flights in autumn was from south to west. The largest number of ring recoveries indicating the main flyways and wintering grounds came from Germany and neighboring countries at latitudes of 50°–54°N. Some ring recoveries indicate the origins of the populations of long-eared owls migrating through the Curonian Spit, since subsequently they were found is Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Finland, as well as on different territories of Russia, from Leningrad oblast to Tatarstan.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are deeply grateful to our colleagues, employees of the Rybachiy Biological Station of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences for their friendly help at all stages of work and for the opportunity to use collective materials—the results of trap** and ringing birds, in the collection of which we were directly involved.

Funding

The study was carried out within the framework of state orders in the framework of the projects “Study and Conservation of the Structure and Dynamics of the Biodiversity of Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds of Eurasia” (no. AAAA-A19-119020590095-9) and “Physiological and Behavioral Mechanisms of Migration of Birds and Other Animals” (no. AAAA-A19-119021190073-8).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia

    V. A. Payevsky

  2. Rybachiy Biological Station, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 238535, Rybachiy, Russia

    A. P. Shapoval

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  1. V. A. Payevsky
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Correspondence to V. A. Payevsky or A. P. Shapoval.

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Translated by L. Solovyova

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Payevsky, V.A., Shapoval, A.P. Seasonal Migrations and Population Dynamics of the Long-Eared Owl (Asio otus, Strigiformes, Strigidae) Based on 60-Year-Long Trap** and Ringing in the Eastern Baltic. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 49, 1534–1542 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359022090278

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