Quantification of migratory raptors using digital single reflex camera

Migratory birds have been identified to be the dominant sources for spreading the avian influenza/bird flu virus from one country to other country. It is important to have useful technique to monitor the bird migration for accessing the spread of bird flu. In this paper, we proposed the use of Digital Single Lens Reflex camera coupled with image processing technique to quantify the migratory birds. The captured images were downloaded into a computer system for analysis to determine the amount of migratory birds in each image. This system was tested in Kenting National Park in Taiwan during 2010 autumn migratory seasons. The data collected was compared with the photo counted numbers. Camera count, photo count and ground count results were compared and correlated with each other. The results show that the camera count has high coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.974. This indicated that the camera counts are more close to the actual number. In another word, it has high degree of accuracy. Therefore, the camera count can be effectively used to improve the accuracy of ground count.