Archaeology among the bird droppings: what does it tell us about raptor nest-site selection?

Some fascinating questions are raised by Kurt and William Burnham and Ian Newton's findings, reported in this issue of Ibis, that 14C dating has shown some Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus nests to have been occupied for around the past 2500 years. As the authors demonstrate, this finding could make...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ibis
Main Authors: Houston, D.C., Nager, R.G.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Wiley, for the British Ornithologists' Union 2009
Subjects:
QL Zoology
QH Natural history
Arctic
Climate change
Falco rusticolus
gyrfalcon
Online Access:https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/7563/
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2009.00940.x
Description
Summary:Some fascinating questions are raised by Kurt and William Burnham and Ian Newton's findings, reported in this issue of Ibis, that 14C dating has shown some Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus nests to have been occupied for around the past 2500 years. As the authors demonstrate, this finding could make an important contribution to our understanding of climate change in the high arctic. And stable isotope analysis also has the potential to record changes in prey selection and foraging habitat over long periods of time. Other detritus from nest-sites can also achieve this.

Similar Items