Federcaccia, Bird Migration Office: new step forward for research and certification

Federcaccia, Avifauna Migratory Office: new step forward for research and certification by raising the role of hunters to that of managers and scholars of wild species.

As announced a few months ago, the study carried out in Campania on the post-nuptial migration of the skylark was published in the international ornithological journal “Ringing & Migration”. The journal in question is published by the prestigious British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), which publishes scientific works performed with the ringing method, in particular aimed at the study of bird migration.

The study, by the authors Sergio Scebba, Michele Soprano and Michele Sorrenti, is entitled: Sex-specific migration patterns and population trends of Skylarks Alauda arvensis ringed during autumn migration in southern Italy. The work refers to a multi-year ringing campaign that led to the capture and release of 21.610 larks and the sexing of 20.622 subjects, which lasted for a total of 15 study seasons, from 1998 to 2014.

Only thanks to this research and to the world of hunters was it therefore possible to give an answer to the International Skylark Management Plan prepared by the European Union, which required knowledge of the sex ratio of the populations, addressed to the Member States in which the species it is huntable, including Italy.

The distribution of catches in 7 years of standardized activity shows a relative stability of migrant populations, with inter-annual fluctuations. These data confirm that the larks coming from the eastern breeding sites are in a better situation than those coming from the western areas; an important contribution, therefore, to the knowledge of a species under the magnifying glass by international study bodies. Other interesting data concern the biometry of the larks studied and the difference in the phenology of migration between males and females.

The FIdC Bird Migration Office will use this work on every occasion of discussion with the European Union, State and Regions in relation to the management and conservation of the species. A further step forward for raising the role of hunters to that of managers and scholars of wild species has therefore been achieved and made possible thanks to the constant and motivated commitment of the Avifauna Office, whose activity is increasingly credited by the institutions a all levels. The work is available on the website of the “Ringing & Migration” magazine or can be requested at the email address [email protected].

Federcaccia Bird Migration Office

(14 July 2015)