Tracking the Cranes


Operation Migration

"Here is what the GSM transmitter for #31-16 looks like showing the October 2nd flight. The young farmer on whose land the cranes had been released was also able to witness their departure. This time they didn’t circle and land. They flapped, flew and soared before landing a mile or so away — their first “long” flight!"
— Heather Ray of Operation Migration

The Remote Tracking Devices

The new GSM remote tracking devices worn by some of the Class of 2016 rely on cellular technology to capture and transmit information. They are solar powered, and provide more frequent and accurate data including altitude and heading if the bird is in flight. Heather likes the GSM devices, saying, "I can get locations immediately on Google Earth —even on my phone—and it gives me weeks’ worth of location data in one file so I can see where the bird started and where it currently is, along with all the hits along the way."

Also in use are the older Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT) devices. These rely on the Argos NASA satellite to pass overhead and capture information. The information is then sent via email and, once parsed, a ‘kml file’ will open in Google Earth. WCEP has 16 of these PTT devices deployed on females in the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP). Unfortunately, the batteries wear out in approximately 3 years. Then the cranes must be captured and batteries replaced. This is hard on the birds as well as the humans who do the job.