ANOTHER SUCCESS IN THE CATCHING AND TAGGING OF REDBREASTS
13.02.2014

A new successful catch was made on 12th February by the field team of "Safe Ground for Redbreasts" LIFE Project. Following a week of efforts, 45 Redbreasts and 35 Whitefronts were caught by cannon netting. Altogether 12 tags were fitted - 4 satellite and 8 Eobs GPS loggers. The successful catch benefitted also the SOR/BirdLife Romania, WWT and Le Balkan research who provided the satellite tags fitted on 4 of the birds. During 2014 catching season a SOR/BirdLife Romania staff was assisting the LIFE Project team in the field catch work.

This activity is carried out in order to gather detailed information about the behavior and feeding and roosting locations of the geese, and to study the relationship between the factors of anxiety and the birds’ behavior. Data collected through the transmitters will help determine the most important areas for the species conservation, for planning agri-environmental measures on grazing habitats and justification of the preservation of the natural landscape important for the geese wintering in Bulgaria.

Loggers are fitted on the strongest males. In addition, the birds are ringed with color rings with letter code for subsequent identification in field conditions. Part of the Greater White-fronted geese are also fitted with collars for the same purpose. This additional marking will bring over the years valuable information about the origin and movement of the birds, and we will rely on observations of colleagues from other countries in their migratory path. Ringing is conducted in cooperation with the Bulgarian Ornithological Centre.

The GPS loggers transmit the location of the birds with great accuracy as GPS signals are sent every four hours. In this way we hope to get a lot of useful information. The data collected will help identify appropriate measures for conservation of the species and the adaptation of agri-environmental schemes for land management.

The satellite transmitters, on the other hand,  will provide invaluable information about their favorite roosting and feeding places for this endangered species along the nearly 6,000 km flight to their breeding grounds in Siberia. The data received from the satellite loggers will help the conservation of migratory routes of the species and thus the project will contribute to Red-breasted Goose conservation outside Bulgaria.

This success occurs on the eve of AEWA’s Red-breasted Goose International Group meeting that will take place in Kavarna and is financed by the LIFE + "Safe Grounds for Redbreasts" project. Some of the discussions will be focused on identifying the key places along the migratory route and the problems with preservation of the species’ habitats.