First GPS monitoring of the Capercaillie in high mountain habitats in France
These preliminary results and this study will take a greater sense when the sample of monitored birds will be more significant
Nevertheless, the first results lead to some interesting findings:
_ GPS tags allow studying the spacing behavior of the Capercaillie in very mountainous landscapes.
_ The home ranges of the monitored birds are quite large. The birds can move easily across a deep valley and above quite long distances of unsuitable habitat.
_ The timberline and very clear pioneer stand of mountain pine and birch are certainly key habitats.
_ Cleared dense rhododendron bushes seem attractive even if their surface is modest. On the contrary, the cleared beech forests
haven’t been used by the monitored birds.
_ We can expect in the next decades an expansion of the range of the Capercaillie toward the higher altitude, may be able to compensate the degradation of the habitats observed in the foothills and at lower altitudes.
