Radar for Tracking Birds....

[Andrew Burnett]

I am looking to track down some roosting sites for the migratory bird Purple Martin. What is the best location for saved radar loops showing early morning loops and evening loops. Supposedly a donut pattern will emerge in the mornings as the birds leave the roost and head out for the day.

What would be the best settings to see this action?

 

[rdale]

All radar data is archived at has.ncdc.noaa.gov

 

[Todd Renshaw]

In Michigan, we tend to see those expanding ring patterns more in the spring and fall when the Canada geese are migrating. (And there are a lot of them.) Smaller birds just don't seem to mass in large enough numbers, or come together on the lakes tight enough to be visible. But give it a shot. Maybe you'll have better luck than I think. Regular old base reflectivity, tilt 1 (.5 deg) works the best. Dawn seems to be an easier time to catch them. Maybe at dusk they come in a few at a time so it's harder to spot?

 

[Andrew Burnett]

Martins have been tracked in that manner before.

http://purplemartin.org/roost/

I am just trying to find the correct and easiest way to retrieved stored radar images from dawn to about 2 hours later. I don't want to have to get up when the birds do to see the rings show up.

Ideally a site with a running 24hr loop would be best. Any thoughts?

 

[Andrew Burnett]

All radar data is archived at has.ncdc.noaa.gov

thanks for this info, but it appears I have no clue or the program to use this info. I just get files I can't load on anything.

 

[Skip Talbot]

thanks for this info, but it appears I have no clue or the program to use this info. I just get files I can't load on anything.

For free:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/wct/

Trialware:
http://www.grlevelx.com/

 

[Andrew Burnett]

Here is a good product I found that shows the stored radar without a big hassle. Stores the past 2 weeks of data. Take a look at this loop.. as you do you will see expanding rings form.. those are the Purple Martins heading out to forage for the day from their roosts. Pretty cool. I know at least 3 of these are confirmed martin roosts.

http://vortex.plymouth.edu/gen_nids...00&size=1024x768&loop=yes1&zoom=.2595&center=

 

[Joshua Nall]

I noticed this before, here is a thread I started on it. Never considered it could be martins.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...ring-on-radar&highlight=expanding+rings+radar

 

[Andrew Burnett]

I noticed this before, here is a thread I started on it. Never considered it could be martins.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...ring-on-radar&highlight=expanding+rings+radar

Yep most likely martins. They group into the thousands preparing for migration. They chose warm sites with wind blocks... that way they can store up energy for the long migration to Brazil.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

This isn't specific to your post, but in case others are curious about radar detection of birds and insects... The Radar Ornithology Laboratory at Clemson University has quite a few images of birds, bats, and insects as seen from WSR88D radars. You can check out their website at http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/birdrad/ . I'm not sure if the group is still active, though, since the latest publication listed in that section of the website is from 2005.