Migrators of Argentea

The migration is the seasonal movement of an animal from a part to the other of the world. The most famous migratory are the birds: million of birds travel for thousands of kilometres to make then the same travel backwards some months after. They migrate to increase the survival probabilities. The Park of Beigua constitutes an area in which are concentrated the migratory routes of a lot of predators, and its skies are covered every spring from 300-500 individuals in migration. The migratory more are the Pern, the duck- hawk, the Kite and the Harrier eagle.

Goshawk
The Goshawk is a predator of medium size that lives in the wooded zones until the advanced limit of the forest. It’s similar to the sparrow-hawk both for habits and for morphology, it’s different for the greater dimensions (wing span from 100 to 120 cm) and for the shorter tail. The females (800-1350 g) are larger of the males (500-1100 g), the back is grey and the chest is grey –white with darker horizontal bands.

Harrier Eagle
The Harrier eagle is a predator of large dimensions, with wide and fimbriated wings. It’s called also "Eagle of the snakes", both for its dimensions that reach nearly those of the real Eagle, and for its very specialised alimentary habits, it feeds nearly exclusively on snakes. The distinguishing marks are the silver-white inferior parts with absence of spots. The Harrier eagle is along 62-67 cm, with wing span of 185-195 cm, the female are slightly larger of the male. The superior parts go from the clearly brown to the dark brown, while the inferior parts are white with more or less obvious crossing, both on the body and on the wings, the head is large and the wings are wide and long. In the month of April begins the reproduction with the characteristic flights in pair and "miaowing", often emitted in the vicinities of the reproductive site. It constructs the nest in the external part of the foliage of the trees, both conifers and broad-leaf, and it’s very camouflaged and of modest dimensions (approximately 80 cm). It lays generally an only egg, brooded mainly from the female for approximately 45 days. The chick leaves the nest after approximately 75 days from the hatching. The Harrier eagle prefers the warm regions comprised, in Italy, between the sea level and 1600 meter. It needs wooded evergreen areas (ex. Pine forest) where to nest. In Italy the Harrier eagle nests to the north, above all in Liguria and the Centre, while it’s less frequent to the south. Being a migrator it reaches our forests from the month of March, in order to leave again at the end of the summer.

Duck Hawk
The Duck hawk is a predator of great dimensions, without white colour. The male is brown, darker on the back that on the stomach, with greyish tail and wings. The head and the neck are clearer. The female is dark brown-chocolate with clear throat and shoulders and, from distant, seems an golden Eagle. The Duck-Hawk capture the greater part of the preys flying on the water. Sometimes it hunts in co-operation with the Peregrin.

Pern
The Pern is a migratory predator; it spends the winter in the tropical zone of Africa; it’s 50/60 cm long, wingspan until 150 cm, it weighs 600/900 grams, the female is bigger than the male. Similar to the buzzard, it lives in wooded habitats alternated to open spaces. Very agile in flight, also to lower-middle quotas, moves with skill also on the land, where it hunts the bugs; it feeds mainly of larvae and adults of hymenopters (in particular wasps and bumble-bee), but also reptiles, amphibious, rodents, and it feeds also of the honey contained in the honeycomb, and also brought to the nest during the breeding of the chicks. It constructs the nest on the trees, and lays, in May-June, 2 eggs, that both parents brood for approximately one month. The chicks will make the first flight after approximately 5 weeks, and will be independent after three months

Kestrel
Among the Italian predator, the kestrel is one of smallest, hardly 35 centimetres of length for 70-90 centimetres of wingspan. The Kestrel is the more diffused hawk in Europe, Asia and wide African regions. It has tawny-reddish colour, dark spots on the back, and dark grey head and tail. The tail finishes in one white strip, its inferior parts appear of off-white colour, the legs are yellow . It prefers the open spaces with low vegetation in order to hunt and sure and elevate places in order to sit. It feed on small rodents, several bugs, lizards, small snakes and birds, as starlings, sparrows and larks. It’s easy to sight it, rested on the wires at the side of the roads or during one hunting. Observing the tail, the sex is determined: in the males it is grey with a black strip to the tip, in the females instead is of a tawny-reddish colour, it’s more uniform and black streaked. During the reproduction is the male to supply the procurement of the food, while the female takes care of the eggs and chicks. The prey is thrown near the nest and picked from the partner. The kestrel nests in old nests of crows or magpies, on buildings or cliff. In May it lays 4-6 eggs that open after approximately one month. It feed on small mammalian, but also of lizards and bugs, like coleopters that hunts hovering in sky nearly immovable and throwing unexpected on the prey.

Real Kite
The Real Kite is large and graceful (wingspan 140-165cm). The adults have the clear head and red-chamois tail, shiny in full sun. The sexes are similar in the feathering but the female is remarkably larger. The young, in flight, can be distinguished for the less forked tail, clearer and more opaque coloration, especially on the stomach; however the surer diagnostic character is constituted from two thin clear strip that passes along the wing both on the inferior part and on the upper part, absent in the adults. When they are rest, the young show dark eye and beak and head colour chamois (in the adults white-grey head, and yellow-orange eye and beak). The Real Kite preferably frequents areas of low quota, better near humid areas, however characterised from the alternate of wooded areas and open atmospheres both of natural origin and anthropic. The real Kite is an omnivorous opportunist, it mostly feeds birds, small mammalian and fish, but it is not rare to observe the real Kites to feed in the rubbish dumps of refusals or died animals along the roads; it often steals the food of other birds, as crows and others predators.

Buzzard
The buzzard is a diurnal and carnivorous predator, of approximately 50-60cm of length, wingspan 125-145 cm. The crews are constituted from a hooked spout and two strong legs with long crooked claws. The wings are wide, the tail is wide and round, the neck is squat and strong. It normally hunts on sight, exploring the territory. It circles for hours describing wide circles in search of a prey, ready to dive swiftly when it’s located. The flight is silent, its arrival is unexpected. The victim, often, perceives its presence only when has the claws of the hawk thrusted in the back. The spout, hooked and sturdy, is a perfect tool that the nature gave in order to worry and to tear to pieces of meat. It hunts small mammalian, rodents, rabbits, beetles, lizards, snakes and small birds. It carries out a primary role in the maintenance of the equilibrium of the natural ecosystem feeding also of carrion. It frequents mountains, hills, valleys, plains, wooded regions and wide cultivated fields. It nests on the rocky faces and on the trees.

Sparrow Hawk
The sparrow hawk is a discreet species and it’s difficult to observe and to localise. It weighs between the 100 - 200 g., while the female reaches the 250 - 350 g. It distinguishes itself from the others predators by a long tail and the short and rounded wings. In flight it can be confused with the cuckoo or with the kestrel, but it’s different however for the colour and the wings shape. The habitat coincides with the wooded areas, from the plain until the alpine zone. During the hunting excursions it frequents half-open environments like glades, edges of forest etc. The species feeds mainly on small birds that hunts with extreme ability and speed inside the forest. During the reproductive period the sparrow hawk lives in couples that can occupy a surface from 5 to 10 kmq. Also in this species the male contributes actively to brooding, nourishing the female and procuring the food. The laying of eggs begins in May and the small abandon the nest at the end of July, 24 - 30 days after the hatching of eggs.