Satellite Tracking On The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership
In support of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), Singapore launched a two-year solar-powered satellite tracking project (2017 – 2018) to learn more about the lives of more than 11,000 shorebirds that stop by Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve during the migratory season. The project saw solar-powered satellite tracking devices attached to 22 species such as Common Greenshanks, and Grey Plovers to discover where they travel to and stop.
These tracking devices will provide researchers with more information such as their range and location in real-time without having to recapture the birds. Such data better guide our habitat enhancement efforts to ensure the long-term survival of these birds.
The tracking devices have also been designed to cause minimal distress to the birds, and weigh no more than 3 percent of a bird’s weight to limit the burden imposed on the animal.
Shorebirds found in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, such as the Common Redshank, are tagged with green over white tags, following the international code.
Videos courtesy of National Parks Board.
Watch on to find out how the trackers are placed on the birds, and how the technology keep track of migratory birds and study their migration patterns!
Find out more about how the partnership and the findings continue to better our understanding of other less studied migratory routes, such as the Central Asian Flyway.
Find out more about how the partnership and the findings continue to better our understanding of other less studied migratory routes, such as the Central Asian Flyway.
