Leon Levy Foundation Supports Bird Migration Forecasts
For the first time, new maps are using radar to forecast nighttime clouds of migratory birds and track their flights in near real-time. A potential boon to conservation efforts.
Scientists with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the University of Oxford, England, made the breakthrough: processing weather radar data to produce maps that visualize migration on the Cornell Lab’s BirdCast website.
“Knowing when and where a large pulse of migrants will pass through is useful for conservation purposes,” said Benjamin Van Doren ’16, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford. “Our forecasts could prompt temporary shutdowns of wind turbines or large sources of light pollution along the migration route. Both actions could significantly reduce bird mortality.”...