Millions of birds migrate back and forth over the western U.S. each year. Few people ever get to witness these migrations.<\/p>\n
Migration occurs mostly at night. It often crosses vast swaths of rural land where no one typically observes it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Scientists today have access to technologies that can determine where birds migrate.<\/p>\n They can also identify where birds stop along the way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But where are researchers focusing their attention?<\/p>\n Migrating birds using the western U.S. can cross vast expanses of public lands. They do not follow established trails or corridors<\/strong>. That makes their migration routes difficult for land managers to study.<\/p>\n Public land is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The agency spans much of the western United States. Wildlife migration patterns can assist BLM with environmental reviews.<\/p>\n They can also support permitting decisions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n However, relatively little information is available about migrant landbirds.<\/p>\n That includes their timing, habitat use, and geographic distribution<\/strong> across several western landscapes.<\/p>\n It takes more than observing an occasional bird sighting to gain insight into bird migration. Scientists wanted to know where birds stop to rest and refuel. They also wanted to understand how birds travel long distances.<\/p>\n They also needed better information about when birds pass through specific locations during migration. Answering those questions required data from locations spread across<\/strong> the western United States.<\/p>\n To do that, they combined different types of movement information. According to USGS<\/a>, multiple sources of migration data are being combined to better understand bird movements. The <\/span>Motus<\/a> network provides tracking data that help scientists track the movements of individual animals.<\/span><\/p>\n Research highlighted by the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute<\/a> shows how tracking technology can be used to study wildlife movements across large landscapes. They wanted a clearer picture of bird distributions and movements to support land management decisions.<\/p>\n This information could help identify areas with less overlap between migration and land use. It could also highlight areas where migration activity is especially significant.<\/p>\n The findings can be applied to both existing land uses and future<\/strong> development proposals.<\/p>\n Collecting migration data from multiple western states will be necessary.<\/p>\n Routes often extend across multiple landscapes and jurisdictions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Researchers are collecting migration information across Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. They also incorporate information from the Motus Wildlife Tracking Network.<\/p>\n NEXRAD radar information can show the large-scale distribution of birds<\/a>.<\/p>\n It can also identify places where birds stop during migration.<\/p>\n Individual Motus tags provide more detailed information about animal movements<\/strong>. Tagged birds can be detected repeatedly as they move through the landscape. Radar systems and tag data contribute different types of migration information.<\/p>\n The data can be used to compare individual movements with broader migration patterns. Scientists are no longer limited to larger migration patterns alone. USGS reports that researchers are collecting and processing radar data from sites in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.<\/p>\n Combined, these systems help track migration at a regional scale<\/strong>. They also connect regional movements with individual tracking records.<\/p>\n Many birds traveling through the Mountain States may be impossible to see. Their migrations are now easier to monitor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The information provides a broader picture of how migratory birds use<\/strong> western ecosystems.<\/p>\n Land managers may use those findings during future environmental reviews and permitting processes.<\/p>\n Those findings may help identify areas with less overlap<\/strong> between migratory bird activity and future land uses.<\/p>\n That may help support long-term planning and decision-making efforts.<\/p>\n Comparable tracking systems have already been used to document birds that use offshore wind structures during migration<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of birds migrate back and forth over the western U.S. each year. Few people ever get to witness these migrations. Migration occurs mostly at night. It often crosses vast swaths of rural land where no one typically observes it. Scientists today have access to technologies that can determine where birds migrate. They can also … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":31905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"bird,migration,tracking","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Researchers are combining radar and wildlife-tracking data across four Mountain States to map migration routes and identify important stopover areas for birds.","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Bird migration rarely follows predictable routes<\/h2>\n
Scientists were missing critical migration data<\/h2>\n
The search expanded across four Mountain States<\/h2>\n
The tags helped fill the missing pieces<\/h3>\n