MPIAB Argos white stork tracking (1991-2017)-gps

Satellite tracking of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) was begun by the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology and collaborators in 1991. After solar-powered transmitters became available in 1995, extended battery life combined with the possibility to replace transmitters over time allowed monitoring the movements of individual storks across multiple migration seasons, with one individual, Prinzesschen, tracked for over a decade. Research efforts continue using primarily GSM-based tracking technologies. This dataset includes over 200 storks tagged in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland. As noted in the deployment information, some movements are influenced by experimental manipulations. This long-term study confirms what previous several-year tracking studies of white storks had indicated: there can be great variability from year to year in the choice of winter quarters as well as in the routes and times of migration, intermediate destinations and stop-over periods, but constancy of winter quarters and migration routes is also possible. The variability may well be caused by external factors, of which food supply is probably predominant.