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Doppler weather radar can detect rain and snow, and track it across
the sky. But for years, some scientists have been using radar to
track birds. Penn State meteorologist George Young says the technique
isn't just a flight of fancy.
"If you hit a large enough bird, or enough medium sized birds,
you can bring down a transport aircraft," he says. For this
reason, the aviation industry is beginning to look seriously at
radar ornithology as a way to avoid bird-related accidents. Young
says the technique is relatively simple.
"You send out a radio beam, and it bounces off of anything
that conducts electricity, which includes the flesh of birds, raindrops,
and snowflakes," says Young. "And the more numerous the
objects out there, the stronger the echo that comes back."
Radar imaging can help track birds over long distances, and is especially
handy in tracking migratory birds.
Sarah Mabey is beginning a fellowship at North Carolina State University
where she will use radio ornithology to track sensitive birds. The
Bryn Mawr College alumna says "the goal is to develop a scheme
for prioritizing the stopover sites, by the abundance of birds using
them, the frequency of use, and the characteristics of the landscape."
Mabey says her efforts will help conservationists determine where
to focus their efforts.
Dr. Young says he's particularly interested in weather radar as
an aide in predictive ornithology, or bird forecasting. "Instead
of monitoring what's happening now, you predict what's going to
happen," he says. "You can then work out what weather
conditions cause them to launch, what routes they'll take. And then
you'll look at the weather three days in advance and say, 'Ah, next
Saturday is going to be a flight day.' "
Young says the field is still in its infancy, and a birdcast is
no more reliable than a typical rain forecast. While he doesn't
expect to alter airline routes with his work anytime soon, many
birdwatchers in central Pennsylvania have come to rely on his web
site to tell them what days songbirds are likely to be out in great
numbers.
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