Drones for Ducks: Researchers develop AI to measure migratory bird populations
November 22, 2023 - Carly Bowling
An idea to simplify how migratory populations of ducks, geese and cranes are counted first hatched around a campfire. The project took flight in Bosque Del Apache earlier this month for its first-ever waterfowl survey.
Every winter, wildlife managers are challenged to count the migratory waterfowl that fly down into refuges. Creating the counts is difficult and often involves scaring birds into the air to be counted by making loud sounds or soaring past them in low-flying airplanes. Researchers at The University of New Mexico, in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior, are working to develop a machine-learning model prototype that can count the birds using images taken by drones in a project titled Drones for Ducks.
Christopher Lippitt, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, and Rowan Converse, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, have spent the past three years working to develop an AI model that can distinguish and count the birds in photos taken by drones. This winter, they will test the technology in a complete waterfowl survey for the first time and compare the results to what is collected by wildlife managers using traditional methods. Fieldwork is planned in Bosque Del Apache and Texas Chenier Plain Refuge Complex.
“Ideally it makes collecting the data more quick and efficient, it helps the biologists get the information they need more quickly by running it through the model, and they get an output that they can interpret in a timely manner,” Converse said. “We also hope that this is less disruptive for wildlife. A lot of the species seem to not react much to the drone going over, whereas some of the traditional methods involve flushing them out so they can be counted.”
The model is still in development but the results have been promising. Early indications are that it can detect birds with 95% accuracy. The team hopes that the new system will make data collection more accurate and give wildlife managers faster access to information they use to make intervention decisions. Accurate counts of these migratory populations of birds are important because they help measure how populations have been impacted by climate change, if wildlife managers need to put out additional food for the birds, and other information.
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