Assessment of Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Migratory Waterbird Ground Surveys Using Aerial Photography and Remote Sensing Techniques
To monitor waterbird use and abundance, ground surveys of migrating waterbirds are conducted in the spring and fall on the Upper Mississippi River and Trempealeau National Fish and Wildlife Refuges (NWR). In an effort to assure complete and accurate surveys, aerial photography was acquired to supplement the ground-based surveys. During the fall 2011, spring 2012 and fall 2012 surveys, four waterbird survey areas were photographed with an Applanix 439 medium format digital aerial camera on five separate waterbird monitoring dates.