Applications of thermal imaging for bird surveys: examples from the field

ABSTRACT The West Midlands Ringing Group (WMRG) have been using thermal-imaging equipment since 2016 to locate elusive birds for ringing by night and by day, to survey roosting birds in reedbeds, to monitor nets at night and to check nest boxes for occupancy. The technique has not only transformed the catch rate for ringing surveys of birds such as Skylark Alauda arvensis, Woodcock Scolopax rusticola, Snipe Gallinago gallinago and Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus but also resulted in an increase in survey efficiency, a reduction in disturbance of birds and an improvement in the accuracy of counts for birds of conservation concern. Here we present case studies from WMRG’s work and an overview of the advantages, constraints and potential applications for the use of thermal imaging in ornithological surveys.