Seasonal migrations, population dynamics, morphometry and life expectancy of the meadow pipit Anthus pratensis according to 64-year trapping and ringing on the Curonian spit

The time periods and routes of migration, wintering sites, population numbers and morphometry of Meadow Pipits are presented and discussed based on the results of bird ringing on the Curonian (=Courish) Spit in the Eastern Baltic. The annual number of Meadow Pipits trapped for 64 years ranged from 1,726 individuals to 0. They were most numerous in the period 1957-1970, then the number gradually fell to zero. A possible reason is a change in the biotope at the place of trapping - overgrowing with pine plantings. The 96 recoveries of our rings amount to 0.87±0.04% of the 11076 ringed individuals. Spring migration in April is weakly expressed. The peak of autumn migration occurs from mid-September to mid-October. The main territories from which recoveries are obtained are northern Italy (42 birds), southern France (13) and Spain (27 in the mainland and 8 in the Balearic Islands). Isolated individuals have also been found in Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, and western Turkey; the southernmost point is the island of Malta. In October and November, the ringed Meadow Pipits are located on average 1629±53 km from the place of our ringing, in December in 1986±80 km, and in January and February already in 2218±76 km. The azimuth of their movement is 204-227º, with an average of 218º. Since birds fly mainly from the populations of Finland and Northwestern Russia, the total length of their migration path can reach 3500 km or more. The speed of migration varied from 54 to 93 km per day, with an average of 70.3±2.9 km/day. According to the findings of our rings, the life expectancy of Meadow Pipits after ringing did not exceed 5 years. The approximate average annual mortality rate after the acquisition of independence by young birds can be estimated as 65%.