Eyes in the Sky: Drones Enhance Bobwhite Quail Conservation Research. Read the entire blog that was originally published in the Fall Quail Forever Journal, by Olivia Lappin, at the link below.
https://quailforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Quail-Forever/Eyes-in-the-Sky.aspx
"With various uses such as herbicide application, assisting in deer recovery, mapping vegetation, and even detecting illegal poaching activities, the potential for utilizing drones in wildlife conservation appears limitless. Given the wide range of applications, there must be new and unique ways to incorporate drones into upland game research, right?
During my master’s studies at Mississippi State University with Dr. Mark McConnell, I investigated bobwhite calling behavior and roost site selection. While working at Prairie Wildlife, I became all too familiar on how difficult it is to trap bobwhites, especially in low densities.
I was hoping to trap bobwhites to radio collar and track them, but I was struggling to capture enough birds. Especially at sites with low bobwhite densities, trapping is challenging. After a few weeks, I contemplated shifting our research focus from bobwhites to cotton rats or mourning doves.
Fortunately, we stumbled upon a research paper by Taylor Shirley and Adam Janke from Iowa State University. The paper explored the use of drones equipped with thermal cameras to locate and capture pheasants using nets.
Given their success, I thought, why couldn’t we try this technique with bobwhites?"
