It’s been a disastrous breeding season for the Eleanora’s Falcons in Alegranza, not one chick survived according to the biologists who have been monitoring the colony since 2006.
Photos: Courtesy of Lanzarote Active Club
Last Friday we went to a talk arranged by the Lanzarote Active Club and given by Dr Laura Gangoso at the Sands Beach Resort Hotel in Costa Teguise. We learned that of approximately 400 Eleanora’s Falcon chicks hatched on Alegranza this year, there were no survivors due to the phenology mismatch caused by a change in climate.
It’s understood that there are around 20,000 Eleanora’s Falcons in the world, of these approximately 18,000 migrate to the Mediterranean to breed. There are 285 breeding pairs of Eleanora’s Falcon in the Canary Islands, 135 of these migrate to Alegranza, 110 to Montaña Clara and 40 to the Roque del Este.
The biologists on Alegranza work with around 90 nests each year, collecting data by monitoring and tagging the birds. Each bird is given 2 tags, one metal and one plastic to identify them and a tiny blood sample is taken for analysis. There are 3 different colour morphs amongst the Eleanora’s Falcons, of the current population 70% are light, 29% medium and 1% dark. Some falcons breed in solidarity, other’s in a colony, there are benefits to both and a connection between the colour morph and nesting preference is being investigated, in Alegranza the nests are within 300m of each other.
With thanks to the advance of modern technology, we are starting to understand more about the migration route and breeding season of these birds. Originally it was thought that read more »