NANOTAG BACKPACKS HELP TRACK MOVEMENT AND SURVIVAL OF RARE AND DECLINING BIRDS! In 2023, an exciting new project began with researchers Dr. Kelly Williams (Ohio University) and Dr. Cheryl Dykstra (Raptor Environmental) to outfit Henslow’s sparrows and American kestrels with nanotag backpacks to track and better understand movement ecology, migration, and survival utilizing the MOTUS tower system (motus.org ). Nine tags were deployed on American kestrel fledglings and 15 tags were deployed on Henslow’s sparrows. These birds were manually tracked weekly, as well as through the stationary towers over the summer and fall. This study will provide much needed information for these declining grassland dependent species and further our avian conservation efforts at The Wilds.
IN 2023, THE COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM SUPPORTED:
COUNTRIES 25+ CONSERVATION PROJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS 70 $1.2 MILLION TOTAL IN CONSERVATION-RELATED PROJECTS EMERGENCY PROJECTS 2 PROJECTS IN
LOCAL AND WORLDWIDE IMPACT ECOLOGY AT THE WILDS
Hellbenders released 46
548 954
American burying beetles released Number of American burying beetle larvae produced (552 from previous breeding releases and 402 in professional care)
25
Prairies burned:
acres
Removed/treated invasive species from 91 acres
37
Prairies (re)seeded:
acres
surveyed for survival 2,300
Trees/shrubs inventoried: Over
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