Frequently Asked Questions: Tracking Marbled Godwits by Satellite
Report Sightings!
If you spot a Marbled Godwit with colored leg bands, please report the color, alpha-numeric code if you can see it, location, and time of sighting to:
Bridget Olson
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
2155 West Forest St.
Brigham City, UT 84302
Tel. 435.734.6433
Bridget_Olson@fws.gov
- Why do we care where Marbled Godwits go?
The U.S. and Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plans have identified the Marbled Godwit as a Species of High Concern. To ensure protection of habitats important to this migratory bird, natural resource managers need a clear understanding of linkages between specific breeding areas and wintering grounds, including key stopover sites used during spring and fall migration.
- Why is Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge so important to Marbled Godwits?
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is considered the most important migration stopover site for Marbled Godwits in terms of bird numbers, hosting up to 40,000 individuals (about 25 percent of the total estimated population) during spring and fall migrations. Because of its importance to Marbled Godwits and other shorebird species, the Great Salt Lake, including Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, has been designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site of Hemispheric Importance.
- What happens when you capture a bird?
When a bird is captured, it is fitted with two leg bands. The first is a colored plastic band with a large 2-character alpha-numeric code (for example, K2), which is placed on the tibia (upper leg) for visibility from a distance. The second is a smaller metal band associated with the national Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Virginia. (If a bird is recovered, the metal band bears the BBL phone number for reporting the find.) Finally, a satellite transmitter is affixed to the bird’s back with two elastic bands that fit gently around the bird’s legs, where they won’t interfere with the bird’s movements.
- How much does a transmitter weigh?
Transmitters should weigh no more that 3 percent of a bird’s total weight. Female marbled godwits are typically larger than males and therefore weigh more (up to 424 grams). When the study began in 2005, we used 12-gram transmitters on the first two birds, which at that time were the lightest available of the solar-powered transmitters we elected to use. The manufacturer has since pushed the state-of-the-art and developed transmitters weighing only 9.5 grams, so we now use this lighter version.
- How long do the transmitters last?
Solar-powered transmitters can last from 3 to 5 years.
- How does satellite tracking work?
Each bird’s transmitter sends a radio signal to the Argos satellite, which receives and transfers this signal back to receiving stations on Earth. The signals are converted into latitude and longitude coordinates. These coordinates are made available to scientists tracking the birds through the Argos Web site.
- How can you tell whether the bird is in flight versus on the ground?
The satellite sends a location (in latitude and longitude) as well as an estimated altitude for each location point. Several data points were collected when the birds were apparently in flight during migration, as suggested by great distance traveled in a short time, together with higher altitudes (for example, >100 meters).
- Is it easy to find the birds on the ground using the satellite coordinates?
Finding an individual bird based on the most recent satellite coordinates can be a challenge. The best accuracy currently obtainable with these types of transmitters is 150 meters; however, many locations are not this accurate. Still, experienced field biologists can sometimes sight the bird if it is moving around in the general area of the last known location, as Phil Taylor of the Canadian Wildlife Service was able to do when one of the birds first arrived on her breeding ground.
- How many more birds will you band?
The long-term goal is to place satellite transmitters on at least 30 Marbled Godwits, 10 from each of three breeding populations from Alaska, James Bay in Canada, and the midcontinent of Canada and the United States.
- Where can I get more information on Marbled Godwits?
For more project information, contact:
Bridget Olson, Wildlife Biologist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
2155 West Forest St.
Brigham City, UT 84302
Tel. 435.734.6433
Fax 435.723.8873
E-mail Bridget_Olson@fws.gov
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
