It's a bird... It's a plane... It's a Motus Tower!

By: Luke Trittelwitz, WisCorps Avian Field Technician

Have you noticed the new addition on the roof of the Wise Nature Center? This tower may look like the average TV antenna, however it's really a breakthrough in scientific research happening right here at Beaver Creek! Last month, with the help of volunteers, donors, and Beaver Creek staff, two Motus towers were built so we can join the advancing research! One is on top of the Wise Nature Center, and the other at the Henke Acres. 

You may now be wondering, what is Motus? The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international research network that uses automated radio telemetry to track birds, bats, and insects. This can be detected by Motus stations worldwide! The towers can detect these transmitters up to 20 km away. There are currently 31 countries participating in Motus, totaling over 1,200 stations, and 30,000 tags that have been placed on more than 250 species. This data has contributed to 130 academic publications covering a wide range of disciplines such as breeding, migration behavior, and more!

Motus towers provide you:

• The widest variety of animals to be monitored over the greatest distance with relatively high geographic precision, an incredible temporal precision Centralized, and a public data portal for automated radio telemetry projects globally.
• See what’s been detected at your and other stations around the world.
• Shared local-to-hemispheric tracking infrastructure.
• Innovative, affordable, open-source hardware and software.
• Compatibility across numerous technology providers.
• A large international collaborative community.

Some of the largest barriers to effective conservation and management of migratory animals is our ability to determine the importance of various landscapes and how they are utilized throughout their annual cycle. Our landscape includes numerous geographic and anthropogenic features (urban, rural, utility, industrial) that might influence migratory animals’ use of and movement through the landscape. Gaining a better understanding of these processes will help those in the field make ecologically informed decisions with regards to wildlife management, policy, and regulation. 

Not everywhere is able to be a host site for a Motus tower. To be a good location, the most important factor is that the antennas have an unobstructed view in the direction they are facing. For this reason, the highest point on the surrounding landscape (within 5-10 km) is usually preferred. This may be a hill or other prominent feature, shoreline, a station attached to an existing building (like the Wise Nature Center), or a standalone station that exceeds the height of any nearby trees or features (like the Henke Acres). 

Motus is not only advancing our knowledge in animal and migration science, but also in:

• Open framework for development, code, and analysis sharing
• Population ecology
• Animal behavior and physiology
• Environmental impact assessment and management
• Populations, survival, and species dynamics
• Stopover, site-based, and full life-cycle knowledge
• How animals use flyways and landscapes

Soon we will begin attaching telemetry tags to birds, bats, and insects to learn more about their migration patterns and aid in conservation efforts. We are excited to join this international project because this data will revolutionize our understanding of migratory animals! Stay tuned for more information.

Does This Tank Make My Shell Look Big: Snapper’s New Enclosure

 By: Mia Zacho, WisCorps Naturalist

Here at Beaver Creek Reserve our mission is Connecting People with Nature. One of the most unique ways we do so is through our animal ambassadors. Raising animal ambassadors is something Beaver Creek has proudly done for almost 40 years. Since 1985, we have had many cherished residents. Beaver Creek has had the privilege of housing a variety of native and even federally threatened or endangered species. One of our oldest, long term residents is our Common Snapping Turtle, Snapper. Donning his prehistoric looking features and his large size, he is a pristine example of what these creatures are like in the wild. Snapper was hatched in 2011 here at Beaver Creek and has been in our care since. Each animal ambassador comes with their own unique care requirements. As a nature center we are equipped with the necessary knowledge and materials to care for wild animals like Snapper. As captive “wild” animals grow, their own unique needs grow with them. 

With his exponential growth as our resident “dinosaur,” Snapper has already grown out of two different enclosures. His most recent enclosure was developed in 2016 with the expansion of the Scheels Discovery Room. Our commitment to the wellbeing of our beloved animal ambassadors is central in our standards for daily care; however, enclosure development takes time. Since Snapper came to us, his shell has grown to a whopping 11 inches in diameter. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) standards adult Common Snapping turtles require approximately 10 gallons of water for every inch in diameter of their shell. Due to Snapper’s healthy rate of growth, one of Beaver Creek’s WisCorps Naturalists, Mia Zacho, has begun the process of designing the home he deserves as her year long capstone project! 

Working alongside specialists in reptile husbandry and exhibit design, we hope to build a permanent enclosure for Snapper to accommodate his needs as he grows in size for years to come. His new enclosure is planned to mimic a wetland habitat and will consist of a 550 gallon aquatic tank with a large rock platform for him to bask in the heat. A project of this magnitude will take time and resources. This year we are launching a campaign to raise funds for the design and development of Snapper’s forever home. This is where we need your help! If you are interested in supporting, please visit our website beavercreekreserve.org to make your contribution. It takes a village to keep Beaver Creek wild, and we are beyond grateful for our community who makes this possible. Learn more & donate!