In addition to our monthly GMI bird walks the July 28th walk will include a roundtable discussion at 10:30am of the following topics that should be of interest to fellow birders:
- Results of our inaugural Blue Bird trail. Jim Moffett organized a work party to build and install a dozen Blue Bird boxes this Spring. Our dedicated volunteers, Dave and Joanne Karkosak, are doing weekly surveys of the nest activity which will be reviewed.
- Mike Coulter has been using GMI’s SM-4 SongMeter to record bird songs in various parts of the Great Marsh. Mike will discuss his results so far and future plans. One of which is to apply for a grant from WildLife acoustics for a number of these devices to further studies of bird songs and the effect of Pa Turnpike noise on their activity.
- Folks from Willistown Conservation Trust will provide an overview of the MOTUS project. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry arrays to study movements of small animals.
- WCT has received a major grant to build and deploy approximately 40 automated receivers in PA, Delaware and Maryland.
- GMI has been providing technical support to the MOTUS project. Jim Moore will do a tour of our MOTUS test antenna farm and provide some results of our tag testing.
We hope you folks can make both events. For the dedicated birders the walk will start at 6:30AM led by Mike. If you choose to sleep in the Roundtable will start after the walk – probably about 10:30.
Please contact GMI’s Program director, Lori Moore at 503-544-3868 or Loritmoore46@gmail.com if you plan to attend and if you will be arriving at 6:30AM or 10:30AM or anytime in between. Please check in at the Nature Center when you arrive.
