News

This summer the scientists of the Estonian University of Life Sciences attached solar-powered GPS-GSM transmitters to eight young common cranes (Grus grus). The technology allows to accurately measure and analyse animals’ home area, use of habitat, flight behaviour, temperature and so forth.

„With the GPS technology it is now possible to study not only bird migration, but also many other applications such as the habits of selecting resting and wintering areas. The hypothesis states that common cranes' primary migration direction is South, but there are also many factors which can have impact on it. The most important ones are the availability of food and resting places, weather and relationships between the birds,“ says Aivar Leito, Research Professor of the University of Life Sciences.

Leito added that so far the researches have shown that Estonian common cranes are heading to Spain, North of Africa, but also to Ethiopia. Many cranes change their migration routes during their lifetime.

The telemetries weigh 22 grams. Last year the famous common crane called Ahja 5 was provided with the same type of transmitter. All in all, since 1997 there have been 35 common cranes in Estonia wearing the transmitter, eleven of them still being alive.

The migration routes of common cranes are available to look at here: http://birdmap.5dvision.ee/EN/.​