Status of the Red Kite Milvus milvus in Croatia, based on telemetry research: spatiotemporal distribution and new breeding record

Abstract

Until 2018 the Red Kite was considered a regionally extinct breeding species in Croatia and a rare winter visitor in Eastern Slavonia. This paper provides an overview of the results of a satellite telemetry study of Red Kites tagged in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. This is the first comprehensive study on the phenology of the species in Croatia. Between September 2014 and October 2018, a total of 39 tagged individuals have been recorded in Croatia and spent a collective total of 1484 days here. Red Kites mainly occurred in Croatia from September to March, while few birds remained here during the summer. Birds nesting in central Europe migrate through Croatia in broad front, appearing in all parts of the country, moving SW to wintering grounds in Italy, while fewer individuals follow the SE direction to Greece. Furthermore, the wintering behaviour of four tagged Red Kites were recorded using communal roosts in the continental part of Croatia. During the early spring of 2018, a female Red Kite tagged in the Czech Republic was suspected of breeding in Eastern Slavonia and later in the season the nesting was confirmed south of the town of Đakovo, even though it was unsuccessful.