Winter Home Range of an Adult Female Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in Suburban Canberra

Abstract

A radio-tagged female Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae was followed for 12 tracking nights over a 54-day period in the non-breeding season. She moved 10 km from her breeding home range in a Canberra woodland to establish a non-breeding home range in a suburban residential zone. She ranged over an estimated 122 ha calculated for 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) and 91 ha for 95% MCP. She returned once to her breeding territory, and mate, before losing her radio tag at her urban winter roost. The results suggest that home ranges for Southern Boobooks near Canberra are at least three times larger than published estimates of 37 ha.