#montagusharrier

[senegallife]

Comment: jorisvanalphen said "A Montagu's harrier hunts for grasshoppers in the evening sunlight at a roost in Khelcom, Senegal. #montagusharrier #harrier #Khelcom #Senegal #grauwekiek #grauwekiekendief"

[wingedjewels]

Looking Down 7710 by Dr DAD (Daniel A D’Auria MD) on Flickr.

[senegallife]

Comment: jorisvanalphen said "Why scientists traveled 5000km to Senegal to fit this bird with a solar backpack? The Montagu's harrier is one of Europe's most endangered birds of prey. Only around 40 pairs breed in the Netherlands; less than 10 in the UK. Conservationists are working hard to protect the species here, but the threats are increasingly coming from further south. Most of the year these birds live in the African Sahel, migrating 5000 kilometers to Europe and back every year to breed. Yet almost everything we know about the behavior of these birds applies to Europe. We know very little about how they live in the Sahel. What do they eat? How do they hunt? Where do they like to roost? Without such knowledge it is impossible to take measures to protect them. Stacked inside this solar backpack are half a dozen sensors that allow researchers of the Dutch Montagu’s Harrier Foundation to study their behavior in minute detail. Every couple of seconds the backpack takes a snapshot of the bird’s GPS position, speed, and other variables. By pairing this information with surveys of the habitat they are flying through, the researchers are learning how the birds are using the landscape, and how they might react to changes such as intensifying agriculture, extreme droughts, and fires. From my story "Tailing the Montagu's Harrier" which appeared in BBC Wildlife Magazine this April. More to come. #solar #gps #montagusharrier #harrier #grauwekiekendief #grauwekiek #kiekendief #khelcom #senegal #africa #conservation #science #wildlife #nature #bird #birdsofinstagram @ilcp_photographers #uvabits"

[senegallife]

Comment: jorisvanalphen said "The Montagu's harrier is one of the most elegant birds of prey in the world, and we love seeing it in Europe. But it's really an African species that comes to visit us for a few months in summer to breed. Most of the year it spends in the dry Sahel, yet we know very little about their behavior during this time. This photo shows a female hunting grasshoppers in Senegal. More to come. #senegal #africa #sahel #montagusharrier #harrier #bird #conservation #birdsofinstagram #wildlife #raptor #birdwatching #baobab #birdsofprey #birds #nature #vogels #vogelbescherming #grauwekiek #kiekendief #roofvogel #natuur #natuurbescherming"  

[senegallife]

Comment: jorisvanalphen said "The Montagu's harrier is one of the most elegant birds of prey in the world, and we love seeing it in Europe. But it's really an African species that comes to visit us for a few months in summer to breed. Most of the year it spends in the dry Sahel, yet we know very little about their behavior during this time. This photo shows a female hunting grasshoppers in Senegal. More to come. #senegal #africa #sahel #montagusharrier #harrier #bird #conservation #birdsofinstagram #wildlife #raptor #birdwatching #baobab #birdsofprey #birds #nature #vogels #vogelbescherming #grauwekiek #kiekendief #roofvogel #natuur #natuurbescherming"