Wednesday, July 18, 2018

News from Argos

Nork: Rosmorduc Vinca
Bidaltze-data: 2018(e)ko uztailak 17, asteartea 10:45 

Nori: josebafelix@outlook.es
Gaia: Testimonies from Argos users

Dear Joseba,

Please note that the « testimony » about your use of Argos for Eurasian woodcock tracking has been published at 
http://www.argos-system.org/scolopax-rusticola/ (http://www.argos-system.org/fr/becasses-sans-frontieres/ for the French version).

Thanks for everything,


Best regards,

Vinca Rosmorduc
Outreach & training
Environmental Monitoring
+33 (0)561 394 856

cls_mini_logo

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Scolopax rusticola without frontiers 


09.07.2018 Animal tracking applications

Scolopax rusticola without frontiers

The Eurasian woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a very special bird as it is crepuscular. During the day, it rests in places where there is not much light.  Thus, this species was not very well known before the first tracking – in 2006, as before that the lightest Argos PPT was 18 g, twice too heavy for a bird around 300 to 350 g. 
 
Questions were numerous: What is(are) the real path(s) of Eurasian woodcocks? How long are they flying from the beginning up to their arrival locations? How fast are they flying? Are the Ural Mountains really their destination?…


Track of an Eurasian woodcock (credit Joseba Felix Tobar-Arbulu)

From 2004 onwards, Argos PPTs were made weighing 12 g and soon less (the smallest one is currently 2 g), with solar panels to give them power. This has enabled the tracking of birds as small as the Eurasian woodcock, to the greatest satisfaction and pleasure of people interested by this species, who designed a special harness to attach the Argos PTT to the bird.  With the financial help of different institutions (Government of Navarre, of Catalonia, of Bizkaia, of Majorca, … some banks), of the Argos team, plus many people (hunters, field people, …) who helped to locate the birds in many different places around the whole Spanish state, from Galicia to Catalonia, from Andalusia to the Basque Country, so much more of this bird’s behavior is now known.

And as usual, when some of those questions were solved by the tracking, new questions came with the first results, and the study went on, and was also made in other countries — Russia, Scotland, Italy, England, and even the USA for another species, the Scolopax minor.

References:
Joseba Felix Tobar-Arbulu (PhD in Engineering, Prof. of the University of the Basque Country)

(Members of the CCB team: Miguel Minondo, Felipe Diez, Zarbo Ibarrola, Izaskun Ajuriagerra, Rubén Ibáñez, Ibon Telletxea and Joseba Felix Tobar-Arbulu)

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Bécasses sans frontières 


09.07.2018 Oiseaux

Bécasses sans frontières

La bécasse des bois, Scolopax rusticola, est un oiseau très spécial car il vit la nuit. Pendant la journée, il se repose dans des endroits où il n’y a pas beaucoup de lumière.  Ainsi, cette espèce n’était pas très bien connue avant le premier suivi – en 2006, car précédemment les balises Argos les plus légères faisaient 18 g, deux fois trop de poids pour un oiseau de 300 à 350 g environ.

Les questions que l’on se posait sur cette espèce étaient nombreuses : Quel(s) est(sont) le(s) vrai(s) trajets(s) de la bécasse d’Eurasie ? Combien de temps s’écoule de leur départ jusqu’à leur arrivée ? À quelle vitesse volent-ils ? Les montagnes de l’Oural sont-elles vraiment leur destination finale ?


Suivi d’une bécasse des bois (crédit Joseba Felix Tobar-Arbulu) 
 
À partir de 2004, des émetteurs Argos ont été fabriqués ne pesant que 12 g et bientôt moins (le plus petit pesant actuellement 2 g), avec des panneaux solaires pour leur fournir l’énergie. Cela a permis de suivre des oiseaux aussi petits que la bécasse des bois, à la plus grande satisfaction et au plus grand plaisir des personnes intéressées par cette espèce, qui ont conçu un harnais spécial pour attacher la balise Argos à l’oiseau.  Avec l’aide financière de différentes institutions (Gouvernement de Navarre, de Catalogne, de Bizkaia, de Majorque, …. ainsi également que quelques banques), de l’équipe Argos, ainsi que de nombreuses personnes (chasseurs, gens du terrain,….) qui ont aidé à localiser les oiseaux dans de nombreux endroits différents dans toute l’Espagne, de la Galice à la Catalogne, de l’Andalousie au Pays Basque, le comportement de cet oiseau est maintenant beaucoup mieux connu.

Et comme d’habitude, lorsque certaines de ces questions ont été résolues grâce aux suivis, de nouvelles questions sont venues avec les premiers résultats. L’étude continue, et a également été réalisée dans d’autres pays — Russie, Ecosse, Italie, Angleterre, et même les États-Unis pour une autre espèce, le Scolopax minor.

Références:
Joseba Felix Tobar-Arbulu (PhD in Engineering, Prof. of the University of the Basque Country)

(Members of the CCB team: Miguel Minondo, Felipe Diez, Zarbo Ibarrola, Izaskun Ajuriagerra, Rubén Ibáñez, Ibon Telletxea and Joseba Felix Tobar-Arbulu)



Friday, November 29, 2013

Scolopax Rusticola Without Frontiers, SRWF (2013)





Almost at the end of the 2013 and after ten years of working in this wonderful project, here some ideas to be rethought.

1. The beginning[1]

The history began in 2003. At that time there were no available PTTs for the Eurasian woodcock.

In 2004 most of the information that was available in internet was analyzed. At the end of 2004 we knew that MTI was preparing new solar PTTs of 12 grams.

For traditional radio-telemetry tracking, we did know that some woodcocks were equipped with transmitters of 12 grams

So, at the beginning of January 2005, we contacted MTI.
Here what we said about our woodcocks[2]:
In order to track its migration (from September-October until the middle of November) we should have to take in consideration some problems:

a) It is time for its hunting, so lot of problems to survive.
b) The bird uses brushy forest to protect itself.

This is why we would prefer to follow it in its counter migration, from the Spanish state to its breeding areas (maybe up to the Ural Mountains). 

The counter migration has some advantages:

1) The bird goes right away to its breeding areas.
2) It does not use as much the brushy forest as it uses in its migration.
3) There is no hunting.

The counter migration period is a short one: the bird leaves the Spanish state around the middle of March and in a couple of weeks all, or at least most of the birds are gone.

All the above makes our project easier in the counter migration than in the migration period.

On March 1st, 2005, we sent MTI an email with the following decision:

(a)    We are planning to follow the counter migration of the Scolopax rusticola, starting next March 2006
(b)    So, we will need (some) PTT-100 12 gram Solar PTTs to be in our hands by next January, 2006

2. The project goes on…

After A First![3] in 2006, we had very interesting experiences.
 
Here some key points:

(i) We were aware of the problem of the interferences in Europe[4]. 

(ii) The Charge  charge of the PTTs is the key point, not only against interferences but also to give better emissions. So, in new projects the PTTs would have to charge more. The problem of the interferences is really serious, hard and deep[5].  

(iii) The woodcock's weight is around 300/350 grams. There is no possibility, up to now, to track them with Argos/GPS PTTs[6].

(iv) The problem of the interferences has been overcome with high charge, as we proposed in our previous experiments[7].

(v) Last words: Is it possible to gather even more data? To gather even more accurate data? We will keep working, researching, trying to know more about the migration of the Scolopax rusticola and to gather data with more frequency and better accuracy, always following the advices of MTI[8].

(vi)  Solar Argos/GPS PTTs: Up to now, 2011, there is no possibility to track woodcocks with Argos/GPS PTTs, since the smallest solar Argos/GPS PTT weights 22 grams. In any case, at the prototype level, MTI has produced one of 15 grams. It is very possible the next one to be one of 11/12 grams[9].

(vii)  Last words: Is it possible to gather even more data? To gather even more accurate data, maybe with the help of a new Argos/GPS PTT, small enough to be carried by woodcocks?[10]

 
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3. The 2012 Avian & Marine Tracking Conference

Inside the Conference Hall there is a big mural where the following can be read:

GPS: THE FUTURE IS HERE

At the end of my talk[11], I said:

We need a PTT with GPS, to be inside that future.”

4. 2013: email to MTI

In 2013 we have had two main events related to the project SRWF. 

One is related to the woodcock Ortegal.

Ortegal was hunted on 14.11.2013. The hunters gave us the PTT. 

The PTT was without emitting since 26.10.2013, so we checked that PTT to know if it worked or not.

After that checking, I wrote an email to MTI (23/11/2013):

“In spite of the weather the data are pretty good…

So, in my opinion, and as hypothesis, the poor data given by the different woodcocks in their coming back towards their release points is due to the behavior of these birds, hiding in the forest to protect themselves and with no very good opportunities for the PTT to charge well.

No problem with the PTTs and/or with the Satellites (Argos).

We need a new technology: a kind of Argos/GPS PTT of 10/12 g.


[7]  See Scolopax rusticola without frontiers: http://www.euskonews.com/0522zbk/gaia52202en.html.
[8]  See Scolopax rusticola without frontiers: http://www.euskonews.com/0522zbk/gaia52202en.html.