Camera watches foraging Oystercatchers day and night
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
Species: Oystercatcher
Project: Fine-scale foraging patterns of Oystercatchers in the Wadden Sea
Foraging conditions for shorebirds in intertidal systems vary greatly over time. Tidal, diurnal, lunar and seasonal cycles have very different characteristic timescales, but all influence food availability and spatio-temporal foraging patterns. To reveal the relative impact of these different environmental rhythms on the spatio-temporal use of intertidal flats by shorebirds, we use different continuous monitoring systems at the Balgzand intertidal area in the Dutch western Wadden Sea. At the individual level, gps-tagging is used to monitor bird’s whereabouts throughout the season. A stand-alone camera makes continuous observations of foragers near a local mussel and cockle bed. Two example movies recorded by this camera can be watched here.
Day-time camera observations of shorebirds shortly after a disturbance:
Night-time camera observations of foraging Oystercatchers on a Cockle Bed on Balgzand
Latest Highlights
Overwintering and foraging areas used by a 24-year old Eurasian spoonbill
Wednesday, April 18th, 2018
Lesser Black-backed Gulls from Schiermonnikoog enjoy their winter holiday
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018
Oystercatchers returning from inland breeding grounds
Sunday, July 23rd, 2017
GPS tracker with SMS messaging
Monday, November 2nd, 2015
Ronny found back, three years after deployment of the UvA-BiTS GPS-tracker
Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
Lesser Black-backed Gulls feed on potato crisps in Moeskroen
Wednesday, November 13th, 2013
‘Vogel het uit!’ has won the 2013 Academic Year Prize
Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Back in Europe: UvA-BiTS Honey Buzzard photographed at the Strait of Gibraltar
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
UvA-BiTS database passes 10 million record mark
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
Gulls pouring into the Kelderhuispolder colony
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
To the Karoo and back: Mate replacement & GPS tracking study of an ousted eagle
Monday, March 25th, 2013
Meeting Montagu’s Harrier Edwin in Senegal
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
Oystercatchers: Learning how and where to survive
Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
New GPS mini-tracker facilitates investigation into movement of smaller animals
Wednesday, July 4th, 2012
Over 5 million GPS fixes in the UvA-BiTS database
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
Tagged Lesser Black-backed Gulls return to Orford Ness
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Gulls spotted in their over-wintering areas
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
The UK a top vacation destination in 2011
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
A long way from home
Sunday, June 26th, 2011
Visiting Amsterdam for a day
Saturday, May 14th, 2011
Female deserts brood, male raises chicks
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Wintering range in Sierra Leone
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Camera watches foraging Oystercatchers day and night
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
The return of a bird presumed dead
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
Texel gulls back from wintering areas
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
First Lesser Black-backed Gull returns to the breeding colony
Monday, April 13th, 2009