“Researchers: Drones are good tools for the census of birds”
“To count the birds with drones is cheaper, and gives better results than the traditional methods. The researchers at the university in the Danish Aarhus.”
“They see great benefits with the use of drones when it comes to inventory populations of bird species such as spoonbill, gulls and terns. The drones are less disturbing for the birds that nest in colonies than if fågelräknare to go around on the ground and scare up the birds, ” says Thomas Eske Holm at Aarhus university, Institut for Bioscience.”
“He has, together with colleagues conducted experiments with the census of birds on several premises on the Jutland peninsula in 2018. Biologists notes that breeding birds usually stayed in the nest, so even if a drone flew over them.”
“– With a small drone for 12 000 sek, we can identify a relatively large area and get a coherent photo, ” says Thomas Eske Holm.”
“the Comparisons have also shown that drönarräkningen gives more accurate numbers than the traditional calculation. This applies in particular where the alternative is to count the birds in the colony at a distance with the help of binoculars or telescopes. A drönarräkning of gulls on the island of Langli in the Wadden sea led to a twice as high number – about 19 000 – which is a manual estimate of two experienced fågelräknare.”
“the Researchers now recommend the Danish Miljøstyrelsen to test drones as a tool in the national monitoring programme for the birds.”
