Using UAVs to locate saltmarsh breeding Redshank

Across England, saltmarsh breeding Redshank, Tringa totanus, are in decline. Previous studies have investigated some of the candidate drivers but, due to the notorious complexities of locating Redshank nests and monitoring saltmarsh habitats, detailed information on breeding productivity is scarce or out-of-date across most remaining strongholds. These complexities also mean that semi-regular surveys are time-consuming, expensive, and potentially an inaccurate reflection of the true number of breeding pairs.

UAV workflows that rapidly locate Redshank nests at scale could provide a rapid and scalable solution to these issues. Recent work by the RSPB has shown that thermal UAVs have a very high probability of locating Redshank nests on lowland wet grassland if flown low enough; however, this work needs to be extended to saltmarsh before these promising results can be integrated into practice.

The student will conduct ‘traditional’ searches for Redshank nests across saltmarsh sites in Eastern England. Once located, each nest will be subject to a series of experimental trials with an RSPB-owned thermal UAV. These trials will comprise a range of survey ‘treatments’ that vary in flight height, speed, overlap, and timing. All the images arising from these flights will be assessed by independent volunteers to produce a detection probability response, which will be modelled as a function of the experimental treatments and other covariates (such as weather and habitat). This project would suit a student who is looking for a field-based project with a strong nest-finding component. Basic training on operating a UAV will be provided.