Post by delmore on Apr 10, 2019 19:50:05 GMT -8
Hi All!
I'm really glad to have found your group. I have been working on songbird migration in BC for almost 10 years now, starting with my PhD at UBC and now as an Assistant Professor. We're starting a new project this year and I'm wondering if you could help me out.
The objective of our project is to set up a fence of Motus towers from Vancouver Island to Kamloops. Motus was initiated by Bird Studies Canada a few years ago (www.motus.org). It's an incredible initiative where researchers and organizations worldwide maintain radio towers that are all tuned to the same frequency. Organisms as small as monarch butterflies can be fitted with tags that are picked up by these towers as they migrate. All of the data are curated by BSC and available for anyone to use. There are well over 500 Motus towers now and they have tracked more than 10000 organisms to date. Most towers are in eastern North America. Our project will be the first major extension of Motus west where migratory patterns may be very unique (e.g., because topography here is much different).
Our fence will comprise 14 different towers whose locations have been determined to ensure no bird fitted with a tag can pass without being detected. You can find the location of our proposed towers at this link: arcg.is/1Wyaf1. We are currently looking for landowners that would be willing to host a tower. There is some wiggle room in terms of where the towers are located but not much. All we need is access to the land a few times a year for maintenance. The towers themselves can be free standing structures ~30ft tall or they can be attached to existing structures. It would be very helpful if electricity was available but we can also use solar power. You can find examples of what the towers look like here: sensorgnome.org/Automated_VHF_Telemetry/4._Receiver_Station_Set-up. The first picture shows a free standing site and the second one a tower attached to an existing structure.
Much of our work will focus on SWTH but we will begin projects with additional species as well and anyone is free to collect data using the towers.
Thanks! Kira