Radio-tracking Northern Bobwhites

MONITORING SPECIES

The Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is a captivating bird species found throughout the Central and Eastern United States, as well as parts of Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. In Texas, the bobwhites thrive in diverse habitats, these birds prefer regions with a mix of grasslands, croplands, brushy areas, and woodlands, providing them abundant areas of transition known as “edges.” These edges are vital for quick movement between nesting, feeding, and escape habitats.

The Northern Bobwhite’s populations are subject to annual fluctuations influenced by factors like rainfall, temperature, land use patterns, and habitat quality. Understanding these patterns and their impact on bobwhites is crucial for their conservation. Sadly, the population of Northern Bobwhites has significantly declined in recent years due to habitat loss, increased pesticide use, and other factors. The Northern Bobwhite faces numerous challenges, including habitat loss, pesticides, and fragmentation due to urban development. Conservation efforts are essential to reverse their declining populations and protect these charismatic birds for future generations to enjoy.

Tracking ground-dwelling birds

Generally, Northern Bobwhites inhabit waterside habitats characterised by tree thickets adjacent to pasture lands, creating areas with relatively dense ground-level cover. Traditional manual tracking with hand-held receivers not only has limitations in detection range but also demands that wildlife researchers and biologists spend extensive hours navigating challenging terrains while holding radio receivers and yagi antennas aloft, in hopes of locating their tagged ground-dwelling birds. However, Wildlife Drones’ drone-based telemetry system can cover expansive areas of up to 80 hectares in a single flight and survey any terrain, including rugged mountains. This revolutionary wildlife tracking method is a highly efficient and effective alternative to manual methods.

Track up to 40 radio-tagged birds simultaneously

With Wildlife Drones’ you can empower your team to cost-effectively collect more radio-telemetry data, more often and with less effort. It’s the world’s most advanced tracking solution for locating tagged animals in real-time. Compatible with any VHF tags globally, our unique sensor technology is a valuable addition to any conservation, management, and environmental science project worldwide. With Wildlife Drones, you have the ability to track up to 40 radio-tagged animals simultaneously. Importantly, this also reduces your risk of losing animals.

Categories: #EndangeredSpecies