Signals in the Sky

As migratory birds travel thousands of miles across continents each year, scientists and conservationists are finding new ways to understand where birds go, where they stop, and what habitats they need to survive. One of the most promising tools for answering those questions is the Motus wildlife tracking system — an international collaborative research network that utilizes automated radio telemetry to track the movement and behavior of small animals, such as birds, bats, and insects, as they migrate across landscapes and flyways.

In Washington, local Audubon chapters are helping expand that network in meaningful ways.

South Sound Bird Alliance and Kitsap Audubon Society have both funded and installed Motus towers in the Puget Sound region, contributing valuable data to a growing global conservation effort. Their work is helping researchers better understand migration patterns along the Pacific Flyway while engaging community members in hands-on conservation.

For Kathleen Snyder, president of South Sound Bird Alliance and project manager for the chapter’s Motus efforts, the initiative began with a simple spark of curiosity.

“I read about another Audubon chapter putting up a Motus tower in Southern California, and I just thought, ‘This is cool. This is hands-on,’” she said. “It felt like a really good way to get people engaged.”

That inspiration led South Sound Bird Alliance to install a tower at a fish hatchery in Hoodsport along Hood Canal in 2024 (Hoodsport Motus Station #15271). Volunteers helped identify the ideal location, install equipment, and coordinate with state agencies and partners, including the American Bird Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The tower is now owned by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and continues contributing data to the Motus network.

South Sound Bird Alliance is now supporting the installation of two additional Motus towers in Baja California, Mexico, through partnerships with local nonprofit organizations studying Pacific Flyway shorebirds.

The first station is planned for installation at the Autonomous University of Baja California Campus in the Todos Santos Bay, where it will complement two existing stations. This new site will enhance our ability to track bird movements within the bay—an area of high importance for seabirds—and lies along a major migratory corridor for both coastal and terrestrial species. The second station will be installed near Laguna Figueroa, improving our capacity to monitor the movements of the Snowy Plover and the Least Tern, both endangered species.

Both towers are expected to be operational in time for fall migration.

At Kitsap Audubon Society, long-time member Jamie Acker first became interested in Motus towers after learning about the potential for these stations to detect migrating birds.

“I had absolutely no knowledge of the process, but thought it was a pretty cool way for science to go. So, I started poking around and found out what it would take to set up a station. We learn so much more than just banding a bird and releasing it,” he said. “Motus gives us information we would never otherwise have.”

Kitsap Audubon helped fund and establish a Motus station at Point No Point (KAS-PNP #13927), overcoming significant logistical hurdles involving the Coast Guard, power access, and data transmission.

To date, the tower has detected three birds: a Swainson’s Thrush, a White-crowned Sparrow, and a Dunlin. The Dunlin (#61240) was especially memorable because it was detected by the tower twice. It was tagged at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in California in December 2024. In early April, it traveled north through Central California, turned west to the coast at the Oregon border, and made several pit stops along the coast as it traveled north. Then it abruptly turned inland, crossed the coastal range, and got picked up at Nisqually before getting detected at Point No Point. It eventually reached Little Egg Island in Alaska, where it likely bred, and then reversed its course.

“Motus shows us just how important the Puget Sound is as a stopover habitat for shorebirds,” Jamie said. “It helps us understand what birds really need and why certain places are important to protect.”

As climate change and habitat loss continue reshaping migration patterns, Motus technology is helping conservationists identify critical stopover areas and make science-based decisions about habitat protection.

For Washington’s Audubon chapters, these projects represent more than technology. They are examples of local communities contributing to international conservation research — one tower, and one migrating bird, at a time.