Study species

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Brown shrikes, Stejneger's stonechats, Narcissus flycatchers, Eastern crowned leaf-warblers, Bull-headed shrikes, Common cuckoos, and other Japanese birds

Nation-wide Comprehensive Migratory Bird Tracking Project

 

A collection of similar migratory routes for multiple bird species is called a "flyway." The Japanese archipelago is one of the important regions of the East Asia-Australasia Flyway, harboring 40% of the world's migratory birds. However, the ecology and migratory routes of them are largely unknown.

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How do I track migration?

 

There are several device types that can be deployed on birds to track bird migration (Fig. 2).

 

1. GPS: ~1g to track the migration of small birds as small as 40g. Store on-board type device.

2. Light-level geolocators: <1g to be deployed to small birds weighing less than 10g. Store on-board type device.

3. Argos and other transmitter types: Can only be attached to birds weighing >50g. GPS data is sent via satellite or other transmitting system.

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Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

 

Type 1 and 2 store data in the devices. i.e.

 

Once the bird is fitted with the device and released for migration, it must be captured again a year later.

 

You can imagine how things are difficult. You need to find the same individual that came back from Southeast Asia a year later. You need to re-catch an individual that is once caught by you and is scared of traps or nets you have once used. They weigh some tens of grams, which requires extra care.

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I have been steadily working on this task, and have clarified their migratory routes by equipping brown shrikes, bull-headed shrikes, Stejneger's stonechats, cuckoos, narcissus flycatchers, and eastern crowned leaf-warblers with GPS or geolocators. The next step is to expand my research to multiple species and regions. 

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It is very difficult to grasp diversity just by continuing steadily alone.

 

Let's create a collaborative system!　

 

Of course, there are limits to what one person can do. So, I am recruiting co-researchers and research collaborators from all over Japan, and am trying to establish research groups in each region that can track migratory birds. We are mainly exploring three ways to collaborate.

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1. I would like to ask researchers and ringers (banders, if you prefer) who agree with my project to collaborate in research and cooperation.

2. Participate in another person's project and share my know-how or assist with research.

3. ​Collaborate with another project leader and collect complementary data.

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Kickoff meeting of the collaboration system

 

A kick-off meeting for this purpose was held at the Conference of the Ornithological Society of Japan in September 2023 (Figure 3)! More than 100 people participated, and many people were interested. Starting with this, we would like to run a project in which many people can participate.​​

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