Updates from the European Roller Monitoring Project
The European Roller monitoring project continues to provide valuable insight into the remarkable movements, and decision-making, of this long-distance migrant. While some journeys have unfolded as expected, others have challenged our assumptions, highlighting just how dynamic and adaptable
Short-Stopping and Changing Migration Strategies
While Juno successfully returned to South Africa just before Christmas, two of our tracked birds have adopted alternative migration strategies.
Rory has remained in Tanzania, northwest of Dar es Salaam, rather than continuing further south, while Atlas is still holding position in Rajasthan, India. This behaviour, known as short-stopping, is increasingly documented in migratory species and may reflect favourable local conditions such as food availability, rainfall, or broader climatic influences. When resources are sufficient, birds may reduce the energetic costs and risks associated with longer migrations.
Understanding when and why these shifts occur is critical for predicting migratory species’ responses to environmental change across their flyways and for guiding targeted conservation interventions.
A New International Collaboration: Yining
We were thrilled to receive news from Professor Ma Ming of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, that a European Roller named Yining was fitted with a tracking device near Yining Airport in China in May last year. Yining began migrating south in late August, following a route similar to that of Rory (see map below). On 8 December, the tracker recorded the bird reaching the Botswana–South Africa border. This individual was fitted with a different type of tracking device to those used in our project, relying on cellphone towers connectivity rather than satellite transmission, and no further data have been received since December.
Despite this, the project represents an important contribution to our growing understanding of European Roller migration and highlights the value of international flyway collaboration. We remain hopeful that additional data points will be received and, should this happen, we will share updated locations in the hope that either our team or dedicated members of the public may be able to assist in locating Yining.
Given that Professor Ma Ming previously spent several days tracking Rory in the field, it would be a meaningful full-circle moment if we were able to help locate Yining here in South Africa.
Fieldwork, Rain and Monitoring in Limpopo
Once conditions allow, the team will return to continue monitoring and to trap additional individuals for colour ringing. Readers are encouraged to report any sightings of European Rollers with uniquely coded blue colour rings (see photo for reference). These reports provide critical movement data and play an important role in complementing satellite tracking efforts.
Wet conditions also offer the perfect opportunity to put the Subaru Forester to the test – from muddy tracks to river crossings during fieldwork. What could go wrong 😉 We’re especially excited to go and find Juno, currently in Timbavati Nature Reserve, and to hopefully capture photographs that will allow us to assess her body condition and tracker performance.
Staying Connected
For those interested in more frequent updates, we invite you to join our dedicated WhatsApp group, where tracking information, field updates and project news are shared in near real time:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/GaXPgXbYPZDHGJSp2LGqtr.
As tracking continues, every movement, whether a long-distance journey or an unexpected pause, adds to our understanding of how European Rollers use the Africa-Eurasia Flyway. These insights are vital for informing conservation action across the species’ full annual cycle.
