Since the early 1940's, radar has been used to monitor bird migration. The newest weather surveillance radar, WSR-88D or NEXRAD for Next Generation Radar, is ideal for studies of bird movements. This sophisticated radar system can be used to map geographical areas of high bird activity (e.g., stopover, roosting and feeding, and colonial breeding areas). It also provides information on the quantity, general direction, and altitudinal distribution of birds aloft.

The NEXRAD information is critically important for the protection of habitats used by migratory birds during stopover periods. This information is vital to DOD land managers who protect stopover areas on military land. The data is particularly important to land managers of military air stations where bird/aircraft collisions threaten lives and cost millions of dollars in damages every year.

There are over 150 WSR-88D sites nation-wide, providing nearly complete NEXRAD coverage within the United States. Some of these units are on DOD installations, providing an opportunity to collect site-specific data on bird movements and use of DOD lands. DOD has developed a Legacy funded partnership with Dr. Sidney Gauthreaux of the Radar Ornithology Lab at Clemson University to collect, analyze, and use the biological information from the NEXRAD network. Initially efforts will be concentrated in the southeast to complement existing radar data from the Gulf coast. This partnership will enable collection and transfer of radar data from various DOD installations, via modem, to one remote station at Clemson University, where the data can be archived and analyzed. Information gathered through this partnership will be extremely valuable to all involved in the Partners in Flight program.

Taken from the reflectivity of a WSR-88D unit at Dickson, Texas, this picture shows thousands of flocks of migrating songbirds arriving over the Gulf of Mexico on April 10, 1992, at 00:58 GMT. The circles on the polar grid are in 30 nautical mile increments. The absence of echoes to the west and north of the radar station (center) indicates that the arriving migrants are landing.

In this radial velocity display for the same location, date, and time, birds moving toward the radar are depicted in green, while those moving away appear as red. Birds moving tangential to the sweep of the radar beam appear as white or gray. This type of information allows the investigator to determine the general direction of migration.

Department of Defense Partners in Flight Program Email:DoD PIF Program Manager