Comparison of arrival dates of long-distance migratory Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio with spring air temperature and year

Sa？etak In the Northern Hemisphere, numerous bird species have started to arrive earlier over the previous couple of decades as a result of higher spring air temperatures caused by climate warming. I have studied potential long-term changes in the arrival date of Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio. This paper illustrates how long-term data (from 1991 to 2016) can provide a wider and more comprehensive picture on bird responses to average spring air temperatures in the village of Mokrice (mosaic farmland area), north-western Croatia. Mean spring air temperatures (April – May) have shown a significant increase over a period of 26 years. In this study, I found no significant correlation either between the arrival date and average spring air temperatures or between the arrival date and the research period. This finding indicates that spring migration phenology in Red-backed Shrike is probably not impacted by spring warms in north-western Croatia