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17 February 2022 Satellite Tracking of Migration Routes of the Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) in Japan through Sakhalin
Naoya Hijikata, Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi, Emiko Hiraoka, Fumihito Nakayama, Kiyoshi Uchida, Ken-ichi Tokita, Hiroyoshi Higuchi
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We satellite-tracked the eastern buzzard (Buteo japonicus) wintering in Japan to delineate both northward and southward migration routes, destinations, and stopover behavior. Twenty-two buzzards were captured and fitted with functional platform transmitter terminals. For these buzzards that departed from the capture sites, we observed a total of 65 northward migrations during 2008–2016 and a total of 55 southward migrations during 2008–2015. In spring, the eastern buzzards migrated eastward along the Seto Inland Sea in the Chugoku region or further inland. In eastern Honshu, they followed two different routes. One was to Hokkaido via the Tsugaru Peninsula from central or northern central Honshu northward along the side of the Sea of Japan in northern Honshu. The other was to Hokkaido via the Shimokita Peninsula, mainly from the Pacific Ocean side of northern Honshu, moving eastward through central Honshu. Of the 17 birds tracked, 10 summered in Sakhalin, three in Hokkaido, three in northern Honshu, and one unknown. In autumn, the buzzards retraced their northward migration routes. Of the 14 birds that were tracked the entire southward migration, 13 (92%) returned to their respective capture sites. One juvenile wintered in an area different from the capture site. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the distribution of breeding and wintering grounds and the migration routes of B. japonicus. In addition, the information on migration obtained in this study can contribute toward appropriate environmental impact assessment for wind power facilities in Japan.

© 2022 Zoological Society of Japan
Naoya Hijikata, Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi, Emiko Hiraoka, Fumihito Nakayama, Kiyoshi Uchida, Ken-ichi Tokita, and Hiroyoshi Higuchi "Satellite Tracking of Migration Routes of the Eastern Buzzard (Buteo japonicus) in Japan through Sakhalin," Zoological Science 39(2), 176-185, (17 February 2022). https://doi.org/10.2108/zs210071
Received: 21 June 2021; Accepted: 8 December 2021; Published: 17 February 2022
KEYWORDS
annual migration
long-range movements
MIGRATION PATTERN
Platform Transmitter Terminals
wind farms
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