Southeast Volusia Audubon Society Installs New Motus Station

Every year, millions of birds migrate through Florida on their way to northern breeding hotspots or southern wintering grounds. Protecting birds and the places they need while they undertake these heroic journeys requires a detailed understanding of where and when they move. But how do we gain that information? In addition to reported observations and bird bands, advances in technology mean that the birds themselves can carry tiny radio tags, showing us their migration patterns over time. A new tracking station in New Smyrna Beach run by Southeast Volusia Audubon Society (SEVAS) and hosted by the Marine Discovery Center (MDC) aims to solve a regional piece of the migration puzzle.

How Does It Work?

National Audubon Society installs Motus Wildlife Tracking Stations as part of its conservation science program. Specialized antennae communicate with tiny transmitters that researchers affix to birds or other wildlife. If the tagged animals’ migratory path crosses within twelve miles of the receiving station, it records data from the tag to a database that is accessible in near-real time. The program works to identify locations that migrating birds need for survival, facilitating the prioritization of those locations for conservation.

The Motus network is spreading quickly across the hemisphere, expanding what we know about migratory bird connections — and how birds connect us with each other.

“The Motus network is overseen by a team at the nonprofit Birds Canada including longtime migration scientist Stu Mackenzie, who helped pioneer the system with Acadia University researchers in the early 2010s,” explains Alex Tey in an article for Audubon Magazine on the global Motus network.

“Funds for the SEVAS Motus station were raised through individual donations to the chapter’s First Annual Birdathon," says Birdathon Chair Robert Merideth. "We also received in-kind support from MDC, the American Bird Conservancy (they installed the tower), and New Smyrna Beach Utilities." 

“Soon, Motus will bring bird migration to life with real-time data, interactive graphics, and SEVAS programs that track the stories of individual birds and species,” adds Motus Project Chair John Kendall.

Into the Future

The SEVAS tower joins more than a dozen Motus stations run by Audubon and chapters, including a station at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples.

We follow birds to our work — and they aren’t constrained by the arbitrary boundaries of cities, states, and countries. As a result, a critical element of Audubon’s habitat conservation goal involves strengthening the ties between the places birds need across the hemisphere. Working together with chapters and other nonprofit partners, Audubon uses the Motus network to study areas connected by migration so we can conserve and restore them now and into the future.