The loggers will go on (nearly) adult birds that are released into the wild. The battery should last for around 3-6 months (to start with). In the moment we assume that most birds are predated on quite quickly, therefore...Minimum 4 points per day would be good. There might be the possibility to catch the birds again to remove the device.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Cheers,
Vivian
I know colleagues that have had success with both greater and lesser prairie-chickens using Solar Argos/GPS PTT transmitters from Microwave telemetry. They are beginning to use them on dusky grouse as well I believe. A link can be found here:
http://www.microwavetelemetry.com/bird/solarArgosGPS.cfm
It strongly depends on whether you can catch your birds again, as GPS loggers need to be retrieved to download your data. For nesting birds this is easy, as they will return to nest sites, in other instances it might be more doubtful. However, these days there are very cheap GPS devices available that could be made suitable for deployment on birds. GPS transmitters would be a better option if you are not sure about re-trapping your study birds, but are more expensive. Alternatively, you could do radio-tagging, but that would be more work intensive. Because you expect the devices not to last very long, I would maybe first conduct a test study with radio transmitters and see what initial results you get and how long the birds survive.
It would also depend on what sort of data you are looking for and whether you expect your birds to cover large distances. Anything known about their home range size?
I suggest you contact Dr. Strauss from the TIHO Hannover and / or Dr. Kölzsch from the Max Planck insitute for Ornithology in Radolfszell.
They both have experience with black grouse and Dr. Kölzsch has contacts in the netherlands.
We have currently employed solar powered GPS backpacks. PM me if you need details.
Hi Vivian,
it's a good idea to monitor released birds! 4 locations per day isn't much, to analyze, for example, home ranges, dispersal and to find predated birds etc. go for a much larger sample size, e.g. 1 locations per hour or even per minute.
Of course, it should be possible to use solar powered ARGOS GPS PTTs, e.g. Microwave PTTs. But check other GPS loggers, too: e.g. the UvA bit bird tracking system, University of Amsterdam; Gipsy loggers by TechnoSmart, Italy; or Pinpoints, Biotrack, UK.
However, are you sure that radiation will be high enough to recharge the batteries?
For further details see also: Der Falke 60 (2013), special issue on Bird Migration studies; Limosa 87.2/3 (2014), special issue Bird tracking.
Best
Michael
Thank you for all these valuable tips!!! I'm still looking around, but will let you know what we chose in the end!
Hi Vivian,
Apart from the suggestions already done above, Ecotone GPS-GSM transmitters might be an option: I assume your birds will be in reach of the GSM network? An extra option to retrieve very detailed data through vhf is also available - your birds won't go far I guess. These are solar powered, no need to recatch (other than to remove transmitter if you choose to do so). But there is a wide choice of transmitters these days.
An important issue is how to attach the transmitters. In and around Utrecht several people including myself are available with experience in attaching different types of transmitters on a variety of bird species. I would be happy to give more info or to meet.
Best wishes,
Sjoerd
Some colleagues had bad experiences with microwave.
My colleagues here in Hannover (see the recommendation from Hanno, you should contact Egbert Strauß)
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Zoology
- Ornithology