Speaker: Amie MacDonald
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: May 13, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM
Register for the Zoom Meeting HERE

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System, is an international collaborative research network that uses automated radio telemetry to track birds, bats, and insects. This presentation will include an overview of the Motus system, which consists of a large number of receiving-towers strategically placed all over the world. When a tagged bird (or butterfly) passes within range of a tower, its presence is recorded and incorporated into a database accessible to interested investigators wherever they may be. (And, yes, the system has also been used to track butterfly migration.) 

The network is rapidly expanding as more and more ornithologists and researchers seek to determine what can be done to conserve and enhance survival for these beautiful animals.

Amie MacDonald works as the Western Motus Coordinator for Birds Canada, and is currently working to expand the Motus Wildlife Tracking System in British Columbia. Previously, she studied Red Knots during migratory stopover on the James Bay coast, and has also spent several years working as a field technician, primarily with shorebirds in James Bay and the Bay of Fundy, but also with seabirds, passerines, and small mammals on various projects.  She loves being in the field and is interested in migration, population ecology, and the conservation of highly mobile species.

Photo: Tagged bird prepared for Motus Tracking System