Our First Motus Tower Ping!

By: Jeanette Kelly, BCR Citizen Science and Education Director

Last month you heard about Beaver Creek Reserve joining forces worldwide in bird conservation by taking part in an international research network called Motus. Motus Wildlife Tracking System uses automated radio telemetry to track birds. Captured birds are tagged with a small transmitter (Motus tag). A Motus tag can be detected by Motus towers worldwide! The towers can detect birds with Motus tags up to 20 km (12 miles) away. This summer we erected two Motus towers. There is a tower on top of the Wise Nature Center, look up before you enter the building, and one located at our Henke Acres Research Site.

Huge news! We have had our first ping! A ping occurs when a tower detects a bird that has a Motus tag. On October 10, a Virginia Rail (#45778) flew over the Wise Nature Center. I assumed the first bird picked up by the towers would be a Grosbeak, Crossbill, Redpoll, or Woodpecker, not a Virginia Rail. A Virginia Rail is a chicken like marsh bird somewhat larger than an American Robin. Virginia Rails are secretive and spend their days walking through the cattails of freshwater marshes searching for snails, crayfish, and frogs to eat.

Macaulay Library, ML 29069861, by Evan Lipton

By reviewing the Motus site, here is what we learned about Virginia Rail # 45778. On April 20, 2023, this Rail was trapped and banded with a Motus tag at Swan Bay in Oak Park, IL. From there it promptly traveled 115 KM (72 miles) to Dixon Waterfowl Refuge – North, located in Hennepin, IL. Number 45778 was not detected again until it pinged a Motus tower in Havana, IL, 117 km (73 miles) from where it was last recorded. Four months and 508 km later, this Virginia Rail flew over the Wise Nature Center. Why did it decided to head 315 miles our way? Why is it moving north in October. The more information we collect, the more questions we have. 

As winter nears, we do not expect a lot of activity on our Motus towers, but will keep our fingers crossed from spring migration. We will keep you posted.