looduskalender.ee

No.. be faithful to Estonia.! You will have to use your masculine charm for that Tönn.

Is Tõnn in Spain?
On latest Birdmap update he had some 50 km left to the border.
With a slightly eastwardly route he can add Andorra to his list of visited countries!

Luule, the LSE who might not be pure LSE seems to have decided on Italy. Being a possible hybrid was mentioned as explanation to the migration route different from LSEs Kaarel and Karin. But GSE Iti, Tõnn's mother, used the eastern route?

Luule reached Pisa, she probably wants to see Falling Tower

And Tõnn is in Spain, and well on his way to El Hondo, only some 150 km left to fly.

Over to you and friends, Mark Etheridge!

He should arrive in the next few days - although I am not there myself, I have several contacts who are looking out for him. There is another GSE waiting at Hondo to greet him!

Hello, Mark Etheridge -
Tõnn seems to be approaching in modest stages.

Have you any idea about from where the other GSE comes?

But ... would Tõnn welcome company?

My impression is that GSEs are solitary birds, as most birds of prey.
Most birds uphold territories during the breeding season, maybe most sharply during its initiation when a mate has to be attracted and bonded. I seem to have read that a minority also guard ”foraging territories” to some extent outside breeding time.
The territorial instinct and competitiveness seems to be at its sharpest vis-a-vis own species.

So what about GSEs and species companionship versus rivalry?

Do birds behave differently in winter quarters - on ”vacation” – far from ”home”? (BTW – what is "home" for migratory birds – however we can conclude or define it from a bird’s point of view )

That's an interesting question and since I have not yet really looked into GSE so far, but learnt a lot about LSE this year, I have been looking on.
From translating this article about wintering of LSE (viewtopic.php?p=114101#p114101) I learnt, that LSE are wintering in groups though they are otherwise also solitary birds. So I tried to find out if GSE are similar or different.
From what I could find at a first look with Google, I found that they are not like LSE. They fly far, in this article http://www.raptor-research.de/pdfs/a_sp100p/a_sp115.pdf Meyburg et al followed a bird with transmitter to Zambia, but nothing in the article suggests, that the bird met or stayed with a bigger colony or group of other GSE.
Another interesting article I have found http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/action_plans/docs/aquila_clanga.pdf which also does not suggest GSE spending the winter in bigger groups. Maybe when Tõnn arrives at Hondo, the people there will be able to observe if he keeps to himself or gets "in touch" with the bird already there.

From "our" birds it seems rather that the LSEs fly far: both Karin and Kaarel far south in Africa, whereas GSEs Iti and Tõnn stay in the Mediterranean region, and so does Luule who may have mixed GSE parentage.
Another question is, do they just tolerate their own species or do they act as in a flock and look for each other?
One factor may well be that there are simply fewer GSEs, no need or chance to have flocks.

Hi folks

Tonn arrived at El Hondo on the 6th November, seen and photographed by Graham Crtitchell.

I think that the origins of the other GSEs at El Hondo are unknown, none of the birds seen last winter were carrying rings (apart from Tonn of course!). I am not in the area myself, I am hoping to say hello to Tonn next month and I will report back here of course. There is at least one other GSE there, along with lots of Booted Eagles and Marsh Harriers, also there are a few Short-toed Eagles, Hen Harriers, Peregrines and the occasional Golden Eagle. All-in-all, El Hondo is raptor central over the winter, when I was there last February it was not unusual to see at least half a dozen raptors circling overhead.

Thank you, Mark Etheridge, for the good news about Tõnn! Looking forward to your live-report!

Indeed ! We are following Tönn every step of the way.

Somebody posted this;

http://www.finesystem.co.uk/birdwatchin ... tings.html

There are three photos of Tönn and the article comments on his change of colouring.

That beautiful white-flecked plumage - what a waste, really, to lose it just as he gets mature! Although eagles quite likely don't have the same criteria as we.
About finding a mate:
a very cursory Google search turned up a great number of hits saying that many eagle species (all?) basically choose a mate for life, although they will find a new one if the first is lost.
However, there are not many clues to where and how they first find that mate, particularly not when it is a rather rare species.
The few hits that touch on the subject seem to presuppose that several birds are present within reasonable distance. For golden eagles one source said that the female performs a kind of "invitation acrobatics" flight display. For bald eagles the female was said to set some "tests" for the male candidates.
It seems implicit that in those cases the choosing of a mate will normally be in or somewhere around the possible nesting territory, also that it probably is the female that chooses her mate.

Tõnn has a namesday or feast day tomorrow in the old Estonian calendar: Tõnnipäev, December 7.

Just a little bit unclear though, another day is on January 17, Tõnisepäev (looduskalender.ee...viewtopic.php?p=7642#p7642, and better known at that.
Tomorrow's Tõnnipäev is not even included in the BERTA folklore calendar (in Estonian).
Tõnn, Tõnis - from St Anthony, merged with local pre-Christian protecting spirit; not precisely known which of the several St Anhonies, but one was patron saint of travellers.

Happy Tõnnipäev tomorrow, and good hunting, Tõnn!

Tonn and Not Tonn

Actually there are now 3 GSEs at El Hondo - Tonn, Not Tonn and another (3rd year?) bird.

With luck I will be there next week and let you know how they are all getting on.

I've been visiting El Hondo for the past week, and I have had sightings of what I believe may be Tonn, but at such a distance that I can't be certain it isn't "Not Tonn", the other GSE of a similar age.

I spoke to Graham Critchell this morning, he's a resident birdwatcher who has access to the restricted areas inside El Hono where he does bird count surveys. He says he has noticed a big difference in Tonn's behaviour this year - in previous visits Tonn was quite approachable and could easily be photographed while perching in a tree. This year, however, Tonn takes flight at any human disturbance and will not allow a close approach. Graham is keeping a log of his sightings which you can see online at:
http://www.spainbirdwatching.com/
Select the "Spotted Eagles at El Hondo" tag on the left of the page.

Maybe as he's getting older he's getting wiser, but it does mean that he's more difficult to watch and photograph But we do know he's taking care of himself, with plenty of water in the reserve there will be lots of prey available!

I will make one last visit to El Hondo tomorrow before I have to go back to the UK for Christmas but I hope to be back in March before Tonn leaves for the summer.

Thank you so much for your update, Mark Etheridge!!! T6nn is something very special!

Yes he is special to all of us. Thank you for the news.Mark Etheridge.

Latest from El Hondo
4 GSE in Spain,el Hondo
January 2012: 4 Spotted Eagles At Hondo now.


January 2012: 4 Spotted Eagles At Hondo now.

Not Tonn was seen from the North Marsh Hide in shallow water at the north of Poniente Lagoon feeding on a Moorhen on the 2nd. After observing the bird for about 15 minutes, another bird appeared and came down, again, into the water and sat about 2 metres from Not Tonn. I could clearly see that this bird was an adult. Both Tonn and Not Tonn are still showing a white patch on the back above the buffy coloured 'V' in the base of the tail, and this new bird did not have this patch, much the same as the Adult from last year. Not Tonn seemed to be nervous of this bird, and after a bit of a squabble, Not Tonn flew away, and the adult finished eating the Moorhen. Not Tonn was later observed sitting on the normal posts near to the Main OP. On return to the Main OP, 3WB was seen on a different post, quite near to where the other 2 birds had been seen. 3WB was seen again on a post on Poniente and hunting over the marsh from the North Marsh Hide on the 4th. Not Tonn seen on the 6th feeding on a Lapwing on the far side of Poniente Lagoon, from the North Marsh Hide.

No specific mention of Tönn sighting.