Home range and excursive post-breeding movements of Eurasian Eagle-owls revealed by GPS satellite transmitters

2021

Investigating space use of wild birds provides important knowledge of bird behavior and ecology, which is crucial in the management and conservation of threatened species. In the present study, we used GPS satellite telemetry to investigate space use and movements of seven adult Eurasian Eagle-Owls (Bubo bubo) in Norway during breeding and post-breeding seasons. Breeding adults had a mean home range size of 42.9 km2 (SD ± 35.1 km2; 95% kernel density estimation Had hoc), and five individuals performed long (>20 km) excursive movements away from their breeding territories during autumn. Such wide-ranging behavior has not previously been reported for adults of the nominate subspecies B. b. bu…