How fledglings explore surroundings from fledging to dispersal. A case study with Eagle Owls Bubo bubo

Movement strategies are one of the primary mechanisms underlying animal survival. Despite the impressive amount of studies on animal movement during successive stages in the life history in birds, little is known about the characteristics of movements during the post-fledging dependence period. Such a period represents a crucial phase of the life history during which individuals can show important displacements around the natal nest. Here we present path search strategies employed by radio-tagged fledgling Eagle Owls Bubo bubo during the post-fledging dependence period (1962 locations from 41 tagged owlets). During the post-fledging dependence period, individuals show dynamic movement behaviours that might be related to the development of individuals' mobility and cognitive abilities. Immediately after leaving the nest, individuals focused their activities close to the nest, but after a few weeks individuals travelled further and faster, up to the moment that they started to disperse. At the time that the mobility of owlets was highest, their movements described straighter paths. Movement patterns were not affected by morphological- or physiological parameters of body condition. Between-sibling distances showed a significant interaction between sex and time: until 20 days after owlets left the nest, siblings were closer together, independently of the sex. Between-sibling distances increased with time as individuals became increasingly mobile; just before the start of dispersal, family units seemed to dissolve.