Doi: https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.73.1.2026.sc1
Authors: Yana Korneeva, Andrés de la Cruz, Nuria Martín, Gonzalo Muñoz, Alberto Álvarez, Alejandro Pérez-Hurtado and Macarena Castro
E-mail: yana.korneeva@gm.uca.es
Published: Volume 73.1, January 2026. Pages 149-162.
Language: Spanish
Original Title: GPS tracking of Kentish Plover migration
Keywords: coastal bird movement, connectivity, home range, lightweight devices, shorebird, spatial ecology, stopover sites and telemetry
Summary:
In this study, we provide the first high-resolution GPS tracking of a full migratory journey by a Kentish Plover breeding in Cádiz, southwest Europe. This female individual overwintered for 162 days in Diawling National Park in southwestern Mauritania, occupying a wintering home range exceeding 20,000ha –substantially larger than during the breeding (69 days, ~90ha) and post-breeding (68 days, ~200ha) periods. Both the autumn and spring migrations were similar in duration and distance, covering approximately 2,500km in about seven days, but flying faster and at higher altitudes during spring. In autumn, it made a single, longer stopover, while in spring it stopped twice at Ramsar[1]designated wetlands, with shorter and more closely spaced stopovers. Although based on a single indi[1]vidual, our results offer valuable insights on the migration performance of this species. In particular, this is the first high-resolution documentation of a transcontinental migration in this species, high lighting the importance of identifying and conserving key non-breeding and stopover habitats across its migratory range
