Spring migration of Northern Pintails from California's Central Valley wintering area tracked with satellite telemetry: routes, timing, and destinations

We used satellite transmitters to track the 2000–2003 spring migrations of adult female Northern Pintails (Anas acuta L., 1758) from California's Central Valley, USA. PTT-tagged Pintails departed during late February to mid-March, and 77%–87% stopped first in the region of south-central Oregon, extreme northwestern Nevada, and northeastern California (SONEC). Subsequently, most Pintails used migration strategies characterized by the length of stay in SONEC and subsequent destinations: (i) extended stay in SONEC, migrated late April to early May directly to Alaska over the Pacific Ocean (7%–23% annually); (ii) same timing as in i, but flew to Alaska along the Pacific Coast using stopovers (0%–28% annually); (iii) moderate period in SONEC, migrated late March to mid-April directly primarily to southern Alberta in Prairie Canada (17%–39% annually), with many moving to northern Canada or Alaska; or (iv) short period in SONEC, migrated early to late March to Prairie Canada via stopovers primarily in southern I...

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