This spring, Allerton staff assisted researchers from the Ward Lab of Ornithology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in their efforts to track and
study the habitat use, migration routes, and behavior of native birds. Allerton Natural Areas Managers Alex Lourash and Nate Beccue are working with Dr. Mike Ward, Mike Avara, Tara Beveroth and Lauren Brunk of the Ward Lab to locate, catch, and tag wood thrushes at Allerton Park. The tagged birds are tracked using equipment installed on the water tower at Allerton (pictured right). This tower is just one of over two thousand that comprise The Motus Wildlife Tracking System, an international network of radio telemetry towers. ‘Motus’ is a Latin word that means movement or motion, which aptly represents the type of data these towers collect. Using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, the Ward Lab and other researchers aim to track the movement of various wildlife species.
From birds and bats to insects, these animals are fitted with motus transmitters. The transmitters emit a unique radio signal that motus towers can detect if the animal is in range. The size of the transmitter and how it is attached to the animal varies based on which species is being researched. For example, researchers attach motus tags to monarch butterflies on their thorax using eyelash glue, whereas motus tags are attached to small songbirds using a harness that fits around their legs and sits on their backs like fanny packs! These transmitters are always less than 5% of the animal’s body mass to ensure it does not negatively impact it. The data is then used to better understand a species’ life history, habitat requirements, and overall conservation needs.
The Ward Lab of Ornithology studies a variety of migratory birds using motus and maintains 20+ towers throughout Illinois and Mexico. Some of these species include Northern saw-whet owls, Kirtland’s warblers, sora, Virginia rails, and most recently wood thrushes. Although the motus tower at Allerton will be able to detect any species with a motus tag, it will also help track wood thrushes as part of a collaborative research study that spans much of the eastern United States, Canada, and Mexico. Wood thrushes are a “priority species” in 25 U.S. states and Canada, meaning they are threatened in terms of their long-term survival. For this reason, there is a great need to study their migration patterns between where they breed and where they overwinter to better understand their conservation needs and habitat requirements. The goal of the project is to deploy 600 motus tags on wood thrushes throughout their breeding and nonbreeding range.
Researchers caught and tagged 13 breeding wood thrushes at Allerton Park, the most of any site in Illinois. Since these birds are in range of the Allerton motus tower, the Ward Lab can study activity patterns and migration departure timing, as well as migration routes. The battery on these motus tags will last over a year, enabling the Ward Lab to discover both the fall and spring migration routes of tagged birds. The Ward Lab has successfully tagged 45 birds throughout Illinois and have more tags for birds in Mexico where they overwinter. Combining the data from tagged birds with that of birds throughout their breeding range, the project will uncover the movement patterns of wood thrushes and what conservation actions are needed to help them.
Studying large-scale wildlife movement across continents is a daunting task but the Motus Wildlife Tracking System allows for the collaboration of researchers from across the globe. However, maintaining motus towers is only possible due to the hard work and dedication of a variety of different groups ranging from universities, non-profits, state and federal wildlife units, and individual donations.
Learn more about research at Allerton here.
