While she stresses that any committed group could add an antenna to the network, the technology and components can be daunting. “I thought funding would be the biggest challenge,” Vieth says. The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union, a statewide organization dedicated to studying birds, provided a grant to fund much of the project, excited by the possibility of Motus eventually covering the state. Putting a Motus tower at Carpenter took time, technology, funding, and a few headaches. This provides invaluable information about migration strategies, what kinds of habitat it depends on throughout its life, and threats to its survival wherever it roams.Īn American Kestrel with a nanotag transmitter affixed to the tail feathers (Photo courtesy of the MNDNR). With enough of these towers, a bird tagged in its breeding habitat in Canada, for example, could be tracked all the way through the United States and on to its wintering grounds in Costa Rica. ![]() ![]() This international network hopes to someday blanket large swaths of the Western Hemisphere with antennae, ensuring almost all tagged creatures that pass through will be detected. The Motus network is changing the possibilities of tracking wildlife, and is being used by many researchers already. Croix River and Mississippi Rivers, is listening for nanotags along one of the busiest migration flyways on our continent,” says Jen Vieth, Carpenter’s executive director. “Our tower, strategically located at the confluence of the St. If it passes enough receivers, a detailed picture of a bird’s life can be observed.Ĭarpenter sits in the center of North America next to two major migration routes, meaning the new tower could be a very important part of the network. The animals are then automatically detected if they pass near a Motus tower, and the times and locations are shared. They pay small fees to the network to register the tags. This web of antennas is letting researchers follow animals in ways that have never before been possible.Īny researcher can place nanotags on their study creatures and let them loose again. The antenna can detect signals more than 12 miles away from animals fitted with “nanotags,” tiny transmitters that scientists affix to small birds, monarchs, and even dragonflies.Ĭarpenter’s new antenna is part of the Motus network, a Canadian effort which boasts nearly 1,000 receivers around the world, providing valuable insights into wildlife and conservation. Croix Valley to a global network that lets scientists track birds - or even large insects. ![]() The device is the first addition in the St. Croix River represents a big step in better understanding the wildlife that travel through this area. You can read it on the site here.Ī prickly antenna at Carpenter Nature Center along the lower St.
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