looduskalender.ee

 
For a long time, we haven't heard anything of our young Greater Spotted Eagle, Tõnn. On November 21st, his transmitter switched over to its winter program, which means that information is sent not more than once every ten days through the end of February. But yesterday's transmission puts Tõnn in the Murcia province of Spain, in the dry farming area of Torre Pacheco. The Torre Pacheco is renowned for its melons, and plastic greenhouses are used frequently (obviously to retain moisture). But without some sort of artificial methods it's not possible to do well there, and in the attached map photo you can see the greenhouses and the reservoirs.

 

On Thursday, November 27th, Tõnn circled above these fields. The weather was still good then.

Torre Pacheco is also a well-known place of archeological value, where the second oldest human inhabitation was discovered on the Iberian Peninsula. Whether Tõnn chooses to stay in this area for a longer period will become clear soon, but the intensive agricultural practices don't make this the best place for him. The climate there is favorable, however, and below-zero temperatures (Celsius) are very rare—the January average is +10 C. It's currently cloudy in the Murcia province and probably raining, too! This should keep Tõnn confined to the area. Tõnn's journey can be followed on the map below.

Click to enlarge map