ABSTRACT
The rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) is a Holarctic migratory species breeding in the Arctic and subarctic regions and wintering in a band from 40° to 55°N. The nominate subspecies B. l. lagopus breeds in Scandinavia and eastwards to regions between Ob and Yenisey, and winters mainly in Central and Eastern Europe until Central Asia, including a few in Southern Scandinavia and East England. During both post- and pre-breeding movements highest concentrations occur in the Baltic region peaking in late September to mid-October and in mid-April to early-May. Substantial numbers undertake sea-crossings through the South Baltic, the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. However, larger numbers are expected to leave and enter Scandinavia via SE Finland, some passing through the Karelian Isthmus and along the Vistula Spit. An adult female trapped in the wintering ground in The Netherlands and tracked by satellite during pre-breeding migration used this pathway, reaching the breeding ground in the Kola Peninsula after two months. A total of 112 individuals were tracked during pre-breeding migration in Eurasia and North America, showing that their movements respond to snowmelt progression. During post-breeding movements, adults were seen migrating slightly earlier than juveniles, and adult females slightly earlier than adult males. Observations made on rough-legged buzzards wintering in Southern Sweden suggest that in this species adults tend to migrate further than juveniles and. among adults, males further than females.
