The project would be a comparative study of time and space use by breeding Black and Red Kites (Milvus migrans and M. milvus) in Doñana Biological Reserve using and Automatic Direction Finding (ADF) telemetry system.

We would attach a transmitter with an activity (and/or pressure and temperature) sensor with a back-pack harness to 4-6 Black Kites and 4-6 Red Kites (2-3 males and 2-3 females of each species) breeding in the Biological Reserve. Trapping of kites would be carried in spring (April-May). Most kites breeding in the Biological Reserve are marked with PVC rings so it will be possible to select birds of known sex and breeding status at the time of nest-building or egg laying.

The ADF system will allow us to track simultaneously the six birds during the whole breeding period (until August). The activity sensor and/or temperature and pressure sensors will allow us automatically monitor activity, use of flight types, and/or flying altitude of the birds. Nest will be checked regularly for prey remains to relate spatial and temporal activity with prey caught. We will perform some simultaneous manual tracking of the birds to calibrate the precision of the automatic ADF system and detect possible failures