Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for April–June 2026
Listening for the Birds: 2026 Expansion of NCWRC’s Motus Wildlife Tracking Network
by Chris Kelly, Bird and Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel Biologist, Western Region
L ast quarter we brought you a story about listening for the Northern Saw-whet Owl with bioacoustics equipment. This quar- ter we have more stories about listening; this time with antennas. The 2026 spring season brought significant movement in the expansion of NCWRC’s Motus infrastructure. Commission biologists coordinated final planning and logistics for installa- tion of new Motus stations across North Carolina’s four national forests and Cape Lookout National Seashore. Through our Good Neighbor Authority – Motus agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, Garrett Rhyne of the American Bird Conservancy installed one station on Croatan National Forest, one on the Uwharrie National Forest, and four on Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. Four additional stations are scheduled for Pisgah and Nantahala this summer and fall. Five years after initiating this effort, western North Carolina is now approaching the level of coverage originally envisioned across the Appalachian Mountains. These stations fill a major gap (dubbed by our friends to the north as a “black hole”) in the global Motus network and support research on migratory birds, bats, and insects across the region. The Commission has also become an active contributor to this research through participation in a rangewide Wood Thrush nanotagging project. During spring migration, our network of Motus stations, combined with ground tracking, documented the return of two Wood Thrush that we tagged in 2025. Planning is already underway to participate in a rangewide Kentucky Warbler nanotagging project in 2027. Coordinated by the Appala- chian Mountains Joint Venture, the Kentucky Warbler project, much like the Wood Thrush project, seeks to fill in knowledge gaps about the species’ full annual cycle. State wildlife agencies factor prominently in these efforts, tagging birds on the breeding grounds and even supporting tagging by partners on the bird’s nonbreeding grounds.
Recent buildout of Motus Wildlife Tracking Net- work showing NCWRC efforts (yellow, green, blue) and other stations (orange - WNC only). Note that this map does not depict the full Mo- tus network in North Carolina.
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