SAN FRANCISCO BAY — Bay Area scientists are using cutting-edge technology to better understand declining bird populations and find ways to help species in distress.
Over the past 50 years, almost 30% of North America's bird species, or about 3 billion birds, have disappeared, largely due to habitat loss, pollution, and now climate change.
Native and migratory birds find haven in a small forest at the southern end of the bay, surrounded by urban sprawl.
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“This is a small island that is a natural habitat for everything that lives here, and we especially watch birds,” explained Katie LaBarbera, scientific director of the Land Bird Program at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory. “Climate change is impacting these ecosystems, and these species are often negatively affected.”
She manages the Coyote Creek Field Station in Milpitas. For the past 40 years, the nonprofit's volunteers have been studying birds at the year-round bird observatory. There have been alarming declines in some species.
To shed light on this issue, LaBarbera and her team collected data using a traditional survey method known as “bird banding.” Birds are gently captured using special soft netting, weighed and their feathers inspected for diseases, opportunistic infections and pests. Researchers will examine them for signs of fat deposits or shedding. Before the bird is released, a lightweight band imprinted with her unique ID number is attached around her leg like a loose bracelet.
If the striped bird is recaptured, the identification information on the bracelet will allow scientists to track its movements. However, there is a big drawback. That means the recapture rate is very low.
“The percentage of all tagged birds that are recaptured is very low,” LaBarbera points out. “So we have to bundle a lot of birds together to get them to come to other stations.”
Now, innovative technology is surprising researchers. It's called the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. The Tracking System is an international collaborative research network.
Motus uses radio transmitters to simultaneously track wildlife across vast distances around the world in real time, revealing surprising new details. This system has been used on the East Coast for some time. Currently, stations are being set up along the Pacific coast.
“We've never been able to see data like this on the West Coast,” LaBarbera exclaimed.
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“It was very exciting,” declared Levi Sousa. Souza is a senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. He heads his Motus program in the department. “There are huge gaps in our knowledge about the basic life histories of many wildlife species, and it's exciting to be able to fill those gaps.”
To date, California has more than 50 Motus stations with antennas strategically placed from the Oregon border to the Salton Sea at the state's southern tip.
Souza brings CBS News Bay Area to Grizzly Island, where his group manages Motus Tower. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife installed the first stations in early 2021.
“Typically, one station per property is really enough to cover anything that might move near that property or use that property,” Souza explained. did.
With Motus, researchers attach tiny tracking tags to tiny birds, bats, and even butterflies and bees.
When a wild animal flies by the tower, the tag emits a unique encoded radio signal, which is picked up by the antenna. Range is up to 12 miles. The signal is then sent to the cloud and finally reaches a central database.
“Then it will be visible not only to the public but also to researchers,” the scientist said.
Some nanotags are solar powered, while others have batteries. They are much cheaper than GPS tags, which are suitable for larger animals such as whales and sharks.
There are currently 1,200 Motus stations in 31 countries, monitoring at least 250 species of birds, bats, and insects. Souza told his CBS News Bay Area that some of the data he saw on his Motus website was surprising and eye-opening.
“Western meadowlarks have been detected in the northern Central Valley and tagged in Montana,” Souza declared.
What's important and remarkable about Motus is that researchers from all over the world pool their resources and share their data. Scientists working together will be able to more quickly understand where birds spend their time and identify which areas are most important to protect as the planet continues to warm. is expected. Climate change is a major concern for these scientists.
“Yes, I'm very worried,” LaBarbera said.
At Coyote Creek Field Station, researchers built a Motus Tower and station. So far, they have attached nanotags to four birds: two hermit crabs and two song sparrows. The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory hopes to tag 10 more birds in the coming weeks.
LaBarbera hopes a warming planet, data and humans can help give these birds a fighting chance.
“The more we slow down climate change, the better,” the scientist said, hoping for more than just a wing and a prayer.
