In 2022, the Migratory Bird Initiative began traveling around North America supporting the growing network of stations installed by 91°µÍø and its partners. We helped build stations in the panther-inhabited backcountry of 91°µÍø’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, up north in polar bear country along the shores of Hudson Bay home to the Weenusk First Nation, and many places in between. During these adventures, one thing became abundantly clear, not only does 91°µÍø love migratory birds, but we understand that tracking their seasonal movements is a vital step to full annual cycle, hemispheric conservation, a target of 91°µÍø’s Flight Plan.
A truly unique strength of 91°µÍø is our deep, extensive network of Centers, Sanctuaries, State and Regional Offices, and Community and Campus Chapters across the United States as well as our partnerships with local communities and conservation organizations in Canada, Latin America, and across the hemisphere. These all intersect to contribute to a truly astounding network passionate about migratory bird conservation.
As investments in bird tracking technology expanded over the past several years, 91°µÍø found itself at an inflection point. We were growing beyond 91°µÍø groups focusing on their own important questions to address local conservation concerns, and ready for a more coordinated effort, harnessing the power of 91°µÍø’s extensive network to answer hemispheric-scale questions using a holistic, integrated approach.
Enter the Migratory Bird Tracking Program, which will coordinate and support tracking efforts across the organization to ensure alignment with Flight Plan. The Tracking Program will engage people to identify and address the factors causing bird population declines, critical information necessary to help bend the bird curve. The Tracking Program will also provide resources and guidance to ensure that tracking efforts across 91°µÍø are scalable to address broad conservation challenges. Over the next several months keep an eye out for these resources to become available to the 91°µÍø network.
There is still much to learn about migratory birds using tracking devices. A recent assessment of tracking data conducted by 91°µÍø, Georgetown University and the Smithsonian Institution demonstrated that over using tracking devices. Some examples of important insights brought to light by tracking studies include conducted by 91°µÍø South Carolina, 91°µÍø Delta, and others using barometric pressure geolocators on Prothonotary Warblers to better understand their stopover needs and vulnerability to offshore wind during migration; 91°µÍø Great Lakes has been and identified that severe weather events, such as storms and flooding, disrupt nesting sites, and finally, 91°µÍø Americas and local partners are using Motus to track Lesser Yellowlegs to help farmers manage their land in Colombia’s Cauca Valley while supporting nonbreeding habitat.
As migratory birds embark on their journeys across the hemisphere, they e before reaching their destinations. Only with coordinated tracking studies can we unravel the mysteries of which conservation challenges are causing migratory bird population declines and what seasons are most important for solving these conservation dilemmas. As 91°µÍø’s Migratory Bird Tracking Program matures, we will ensure that local conservation efforts scale up across 91°µÍø to contribute to the success of our Flight Plan, ensuring that our hemispheric perspectives translate to local conservation actions on the ground.
The success of the Tracking Program depends on the participation of the entire 91°µÍø network. 91°µÍø Centers, Sanctuaries, Chapters, State and Regional Offices as well as 91°µÍø Americas and our partners across the hemisphere all have a role to play. This new Migratory Bird Tracking Program will be the latest example of 91°µÍø’s truly hemispheric conservation agenda to secure a future for migratory birds. For more information on the Migratory Bird Tracking Program, please reach out to Alicia Brunner, Program Manager of Migratory Bird Tracking.
