Solving Migration Mysteries, One Motus Station at a Time

On September 17, a steady rain beat down on the Millikin Ranch. Despite the weather, staff from Audubon Rockies, along with Kylie Lamoree and Nick Haddad from Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (BCR), donned their raincoats and went to work on installing the very first Motus station in eastern Wyoming. It's also the first Motus station to be installed on an Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly ranch in the nation. The ranch is part of the Audubon Conservation Ranching (ACR) program’s growing network of lands managed to provide vital habitat for grassland birds.

Motus (Latin for movement) is one of the world's largest collaborative wildlife-tracking networks, connecting researchers, practitioners, organizations, and individuals interested in conserving migratory animals. A “Motus station” is essentially an automated radio telemetry station equipped with antennas, a power source, and a receiver (Motus Wildlife Tracking System, 2025). They can pick up tagged animals such as birds, bats, and even some insects up to 15-20 kilometers (9.3-12.4 miles) away! Each tag emits a unique signal, which allows for the simultaneous tracking of thousands of individuals. When a tag is detected at a Motus station, it is logged with the species, date, stopover duration, and tagging site. This data can then be used to access information like movement paths, stopover sites, and migration timing.

The data is initially sent to Birds Canada, which acts as a centralized data hub, for processing and storage. Anyone can access this incredible data at motus.org. You can even see which other stations have detected a particular bird and trace its journey across the Motus network. For Audubon Conservation Ranching, data from Motus stations complements on-the-ground habitat monitoring, which helps verify how bird-friendly grazing practices benefit migratory and resident bird species alike.

Longtime exemplary land stewards, Lisa and Tim Millikin, generously volunteered to host ACR and eastern Wyoming's first Motus station on their working cattle ranch after discussing their importance for monitoring grassland birds. For the past six years, they have been active participants in the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, managing their grazing lands to maintain a diversity of grass heights and structures that provide nesting and foraging habitat for birds. Tim’s family originally homesteaded their ranch in 1906, and the Millikin family has a long history of being strong advocates for conservation. When asked what Lisa was most excited about with having a Motus station on their ranch, she said, “I'm just grateful to be working with Audubon Rockies, and what a great opportunity it is to have this monitoring system to see how the birds migrate and to actually know what we have around.” 

On September 21, just four days after it was installed, the Motus tower on Millikin Ranch recorded its first visitor: a Swainson's Thrush originally tagged in Vancouver, Canada.

Each additional station and tag expands the Motus network’s coverage and provides richer data for researchers and organizations. Most of Wyoming lies within the Central Flyway, which is a major migration route for birds. With the installation of this new Motus station, we can begin solving some migration mysteries, as many migratory animals still have unknown or only partially known routes and seasonal habitats. For example, a Motus station installed in Vancouver detected an American Robin that had traveled all the way to the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge; researchers were unaware robins traveled that far south until then (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2023).

Beyond research, these stations can also be cost-effective and accurate tools for education and public engagement, providing real-world migration data that raises awareness about migratory species and their conservation needs. Because Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Lands like the Millikin Ranch provide healthy grasslands rich in native plants and insects, they also serve as critical stopover sites for migrating birds detected by the Motus network.

As of today, there are 2,279 Motus stations in 34 different countries with 60,088 animals tagged, representing 472 species. With the help of BCR and other landowners within the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, Audubon Rockies hopes to continue efforts to protect birds and the places they need by installing more Motus stations in the future. Each Motus station expands our understanding of how birds move through landscapes and underscores the value of bird-friendly ranching in keeping those migration pathways intact.

Audubon Rockies is incredibly thankful to The Millikins and everyone with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies for their help in installing the first Motus station in eastern Wyoming.