Migrations and Wintering of the Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) in Poland

In Poland, the Kestrel is an uncommon bird during the winter time. It rarely winters in the eastern part of the country; however, the reported numbers of regular wintering cases increase towards the south-west. The aims of this study were: to analyse the wintering area of Kestrels nesting in Poland, to compare distances covered by the birds migrating for the first time in their life to their movements in the following years, and to determine the origin of Kestrels wintering in Poland. The material for the analysis comprised 171 recoveries of the birds ringed in Poland or recorded in Poland but ringed abroad within the years 1931-2001. Out of 48 adult Kestrels ringed or recovered during both migration periods (autumn and spring), the great majority were recorded in Poland; only 2 birds were found as adult ones in France and 1 in Ukraine. We obtained 32 recoveries of Kestrels ringed in Poland as chicks or as individuals in their first year of life and recorded again during their first migration season (autumn-spring). Five of them were recorded outside the country. In Poland, there were reported 94 Kestrels that had been ringed abroad. Those birds came from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. These data show that mainly Kestrels nesting in the north of the continent migrate across Poland and some of them winter here as well. A great majority of recoveries referred to Kestrels ringed in Finland. These birds also came to Poland from Germany and from the areas located to the south-west of Poland.