Preliminary assessment of nocturnal bird migration at the Bay of Biscay as observed by moon-watching

Nadja Weisshaupt, Mercedes Maruri, Juan Arizaga
2016 Munibe Ciencias Naturales  
The East-Atlantic flyway represents one of the main bird migration routes worldwide, in which the Bay of Biscay acts as a geographic barrier. So far, the significance of the Bay of Biscay for migrants and its impact on their routes has not received a great deal of attention. The main goal of this study is to characterize the composition of nocturnal bird migration along the coast of the Bay of Biscay in northern Iberia. For this purpose, moon-watching was carried out at two study sites (Punta
more » ... lea, Cape Higuer) during spring and autumn 2014. The vast majority of observed migrants consisted of singly flying passerines, with a number of interspersed groups of non-passerines such as waterfowl, waders and swifts. Resumen La ruta del Atlántico Oriental es una de las rutas de vuelo migratorio mas importantes en el mundo e incluye el golfo de Vizcaya como barrera geográfica. La importancia y el impacto del golfo de Vizcaya para las aves migratorias y sus rutas no han recibido mucha atención en la investigación. El objetivo principal de este estudio es caracterizar el ensamblaje de las aves que migran de noche por la zona del golfo de Vizcaya en el norte de la Península Ibérica. 155 Moon-watching at the Bay of Biscay Munibe, Cienc. nat. 64, 2016 • pp. 155-159 • Donostia/San Sebastián •
doi:10.21630/mcn.2016.64.03 fatcat:ub4dwo5wbzes3m344d7uvx7zcu