A special transmitter set up for Karolina in 2019 as part of the LIFE.VISTULA.PL project is still operating and thanks to the transmitted signals, we know that at the beginning of May 2023 she returned to the breeding ground in Poland, to a colony near the ponds located near the village of Kańczuga.
She started her return to Poland in mid-March to make two longer stops in Italy, Sicily and Greece. Karolina is a real traveler – it has been the 4th year of operation of her transmitter and thanks to this we know that since its establishment in May 2019, the bird has traveled almost 40,000 km. km. We were able to follow Karolina’s journey at the end of August last year, so soon we expect her to leave for warm countries again.
The second still active transmitter belongs to Juliusz from Jankowice, who chose a slightly shorter distance than Karolina for his winter holidays and travels to North Africa from the colony located near Zator. Juliusz always chooses a similar flight route – both sides of the summer follow the same route through Italy, Corsica and Sardinia, straight to Algeria.
Tracking bird migration routes is possible thanks to a special application available at mapa.lifevistula.pl. Karolina and Juliusz are two of ten individuals who have been fitted with monitoring devices. The data obtained from the transmitters contribute to a better understanding of the behavior of this species of birds, and thus to better protection of the night heron in the area of the Upper Vistula Valley.
