Aerial Migratory Bird Surveys using Integrated Thermal/Visible Camera Imagery
Wildlife management agencies in North America have a long history of using aircraft to monitor population abundance of ducks, geese, swans, and other migratory birds. While low-level, ocular surveys have been very successful and cost-efficient, they subject agency personnel to substantial risk. Ocular surveys, involving multiple air crews and observers, must include methods to minimize or estimate important biases such as detection, misclassification, flock-size estimation, and sample area determination.