Full migration routes of two Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) display breeding and wintering site fidelity

Abstract

Our study provides the first GPS tracking data of Little Egret Egretta garzetta from an East Asian population. Our two main objectives were to reveal the migratory route and migratory strategy of Little Egret, and to study inter-annual breeding and wintering site fidelity. Our data, from an adult and a juvenile, suggest that this species is a short-distance high-speed migrant using few or no stopover sites. Both individuals displayed high breeding and wintering site fidelity. They also used very small winter home ranges, probably associated with high prey availability in aquaculture ponds.