İbrahim UYSAL, Şafak ARSLAN, Lider SİNAV, Yakut Can AŞIKOĞLU

Early-breeding Season Movements of the Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan, Acerbi, 1827) at the Dardanelles Strait

We aimed to make censuses of Puffinus yelkouan at the Dardanelles and to evaluate the movements at the Aegean and the Marmara Sea during the early breeding period. Field studies were carried out in the morning and afternoon for 40 days between 6 February and 22 March 2019. In the censuses, the highest number of birds, passing in both directions in a day was 78145 individuals; 56451 of them were counted in the direction of the Aegean Sea on 17 February, which is the highest number counted in one direction in a day. As a result, the number of birds crossing to the Aegean Sea through the Dardanelles in the afternoon is significantly higher than the number of birds crossing to the Aegean Sea in the morning. In the afternoon, the number of birds flying towards the Aegean Sea is significantly higher than the number of birds flying towards the Marmara Sea. Considering that the species visits the breeding colonies at night, this movement pattern could be related to the fact that the shearwater breeding population is predominantly found in the Aegean or in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, some issues, such as how long the birds stay in these sea regions after flying to the Aegean Sea or the Marmara Sea, which route they follow or how the flocks mix require further investigation.

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