NASA On Air: NASA Satellites Help Feed Migrating Birds (5/13/2016)

  • Released Friday, May 13, 2016
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LEAD: A project using NASA/USGS satellite and citizen science has resulted in new pop-up wetlands for shorebirds.

1. An 11-year satellite database helps predict where surface water (ponds) is located through-out the year.

2. Ponds are needed for rest and food by the millions of shorebirds that migrate northward along the Pacific flyway each spring.

3. Matching the water availability with the number of birds arriving makes it possible for farmers to flood unused rice fields and provide temporary wetlands to aid birds precisely when the birds migrate.

TAG: The program, called Bird Returns, is a project of The Nature Conservancy and has produced over 20,000 acres of temporary wetlands in California in the last two years.

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/satellite-data-helps-migrating-birds-survive

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Friday, May 13, 2016.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM EDT.