The migration movements of Great Egrets are once again being studied with the help of partnership between International Bird Rescue and our friends at Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR).
This collaborative effort began last summer when ACR’s Director of Conservation Research reached out to Bird Rescue about the possibility of partnering to help increase the research population for their study. Because wild, fully flighted egrets are extremely difficult to capture, and can cause undue stress – teaming up provided a great opportunity. When our Great Egret patients are finished with care, fully grown, healthy, and ready for release, they can easily be fitted with trackers.
This month, a team from ACR visited our San Francisco Bay-Delta Wildlife Center once again to fit two rehabilitated egrets with small backpacks equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers that will allow them to follow the birds’ travels post release.
Not only does this partnership allow us to aid in important habitat conservation research, it also gives us the opportunity to learn where our patients go and how they behave post-release. Bird Rescue is committed to research and innovation to improve the care of our patients and protect the natural world we share.
You can explore movements of the released Great Egrets, #21 & #22, on the Movebank site.
Learn more: Heron and Egret Telemetry Project
