Ozgur Kesapl? Didrickson1,2, Jno Didrickson2, C. Can Bilgin1
and Przemysław Busse3
1 Biodiversity and Conservation Lab, METU, 06531 Ankara, Turkey
2 Turkish Bird Research Society, P.K. 311, Yenisehir, 06443 Ankara, Turkey
3Bird Migration Research Station, University of Gdansk, Przebendowo, 84-210
Choczewo, Poland
ozgur@kad.org.tr
Turkey lies on one of major migratory routes between Palearctic and
Afrotropical regions. Despite its importance for many species, few studies exist
on bird migration over Turkey. In this study, autumn migration dynamics and
stopover behavior of the Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), a small
insectivorous passerine, was documented and analyzed at Manyas Kuscenneti
National Park (northwestern Turkey).
Birds were mistnetted, ringed, measured, weighed and fat-scored from
mid August in 2002 and end of August in 2003 to end of October in both years.
Totally 543 and 929 Willow Warblers were ringed in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
For 2002 and 2003 respectively, fat score values (mean}SE) are
4.63}0.06 and 3.84}0.05 and body mass values are 11.38}0.07 and
10.37}0.05 grams for birds captured the first time. Fat scores in 2003 show a
bimodal distribution with peaks of T2 and T5, indicating populations or age
classes with different migratory strategies.
The number of retraps constituted 9.2-12.1 % of the total in 2002 and
2003. In both years, minimum stopover length ranged from 1 to 15 or 16 days
with a median of 5 days. The majority of the retraps put on significant fat in
both years. Retraps continued to put on weight for up to two weeks after they
arrived.
In this first ever study documenting passerine migration at Manyas
Kuscenneti National Park, it was revealed that such wetlands provide crucial
stopover habitat for many migrant passerines, enables them to gain necessary
fat loads before crossing two ecological barriers, the Mediterranean Sea and the
Sahara.




