[mou] Fwd: [BIRDCHAT] "Loon Cam"
Chris Fagyal
Chris.Fagyal@udlp.com
Mon, 09 Jun 2003 11:51:20 -0500
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I thought some of you might enjoy this. I checked out the link. It's =
pretty cool to see a loon on a nest, even if it is 1500 miles away in =
Maine.
Chris Fagyal
Senior Software Engineer
United Defense, L.P.
Fridley, MN
(763) 572-5320
chris.fagyal@udlp.com
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Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 12:32:25 -0400
Reply-To: Gail Mackiernan <gail@MDSG.UMD.EDU>
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From: Gail Mackiernan <gail@MDSG.UMD.EDU>
Subject: [BIRDCHAT] "Loon Cam": New Breed of "Reality TV"
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Hi -- the following was sent to be by a non-birding friend, thought everyone
would enjoy it...
Gail Mackiernan
Silver Spring, MD
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"Loon Cam": New Breed of "Reality TV"
By CLARKE CANFIELD
Associated Press Writer
FALMOUTH, Maine (AP) -- To study nesting loons, Lee Attix used to spend
hours on end sitting on shore or in a canoe, battling black flies and
boredom as
he watched the birds through a spotting scope.
This spring, he's keeping his eye on a pair of loons on a lake on Maine's
midcoast from the comfort of a climate-controlled office nearly 100 miles
away.
A digital camera has taken loon research from the cave age to the
computer
age.
Attix's organization, BioDiversity Research Institute, is using the
robotic camera to capture the loons' every move. The Loon Cam, affixed to a
pole in the water and facing toward shore, can be tilted up, down and
sideways, or it can zoom in or out, from the institute's offices.
The camera records everything that happens on the loon nest, 24 hours a
day. It also sends live streaming video and digital photos over the
Internet.
"This is a living example of what technology can do," Attix said. "It
blows my mind."
It's not just loons that are being captured on camera for science and
public education.
Lane Chesley, general manager of SeeMore Wildlife Systems Inc., said 18
or so of the robotic cameras are now in use. The company, based in Homer,
Alaska, makes the camera systems specifically for monitoring wildlife in
remote locations.
One camera installed this month is being used to study green turtles on
an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, another records endangered
Steller sea lions in Alaska to learn more about why their numbers have
plummeted.
At a California state park on an island off San Francisco, a camera
records the activities of elephant seals. Another camera along the McNeil
River in Alaska captures the world's largest congregation of brown bears as
they fish for sockeye, silver and chum salmon. A camera on a small Maine
island provides coverage of puffins and roseate and common terns.
BioDiversity Research Institute put up its camera in early May and
pointed it at a spot on a tiny island in a lake where loons were known to
have nested in previous years. The organization doesn't want the lake
identified publicly for fear somebody might disturb the loons or steal the
equipment.
The camera has a windshield wiper and squirt cleaner to keep the lens
clean and is powered by two 12-volt batteries, which get their power from
solar
panels installed on the island.
A microwave transmitter sends a signal from the camera to a receiver on
land. The camera is wired to a computer in a basement of a lakefront home,
and
that computer uploads the signal to the Internet.
When Wing Goodale, a biologist at the institute, sits at his computer, he
feels as if he is sitting right there with the birds, even at night when an
infrared light and lens allow for night observation. By clicking on
different buttons, he can maneuver the camera in different directions or
take still photos that are stored in his computer.
Goodale watched on the computer as the loons built their nest and the
female laid two eggs. The eggs are scheduled to hatch around June 21.
When Goodale reviews the camera's time-lapse tapes, he will know how
often the male and female birds switch incubation duty and rotate the eggs,
habits that, to date, were unknown. He will know more about the birds'
nocturnal behavior and how they respond to predators or even black flies.
"These are things we can learn because we have continuous observation,"
he said.
On Eastern Egg Rock, six miles off the Maine coast, this will be the
fourth summer sea bird researchers use a robotic camera to study puffins and
terns. From there, a signal is transmitted to Project Puffin's visitor
center on the mainland, and then streamed across its Web site.
Steve Kress, director of Project Puffin, said the camera gives a close-up
view of puffins congregating after dusk or getting into squabbles, and
puffin chicks wandering off or getting picked up and dropped on the rocks by
neighboring parents. "It's a real soap opera," Kress said.
Kress sees as much value in the public education aspect of the camera, by
getting school groups and the public involved in conservation issues.
"It brings the story to people. And that's necessary to give people a
sense of understanding and caring for these sea birds," he said.
David Evers, executive director of the BioDiversity Research Institute,
said the loon population faces pressures from mercury contamination, lead
sinkers, development, avian botulism and oil spills.
"This technology is very important for linking us as people, who are
becoming more and more urbanized, with nature," Evers said. "Maybe this will
stir people to be more protective of nature."
------
On the Net:
BioDiversity Research Institute: http://www.briloon.org
SeeMore Wildlife Systems Inc.: http://www.seemorewildlife.com
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