[Analysis of ringing recoveries of Savi's Warblers Locustella luscinioides ringed in eastern Germany.] (in German)

Since 1964 a total of 3992 Savi's Warblers have been ringed as part of the Hiddensee ringing scheme in eastern Germany (former G.D.R.). Of these, 3062 data sets from the years 1977-1993 were analysed. The overall recovery rate at least one calendar year after ringing or away from the ringing site was 1.1%. The furthest long-distance recovery was reported from Greece (1826 km SSE; Zink 1964), two more recoveries at more than 100 km distance were in SSW and WSW directions. Savi's Warblers seem to cross the eastern and central parts of Mediterranean Sea. There are indications of a larger scatter of migratory directions in juveniles compared to adults. The start of post-breeding migration was difficult to discern from capture data, but was earlier in adults (from mid-July) than in juveniles (from mid-August). Juveniles were on average 0.9 g lighter than adults (over the entire period from late June to October). Recaptures in later years were mostly of birds at least one or two years old, only one recapture each was of individuals in at least their 3rd or 6th year. The data are still too limited to allow the calculation of age-specific mortality rates.