• About 3Bird Radar System

  • 3 Bird Radar System - bird radar research of fall migration in Bosnia and Hercegovina and sound research of birds flying through the microphone elevated by helium balloons.

    The service we offer is a bird and bat flights automatic radar detection solution – the 3 Bird Radar System.

    We are an independent consulting company. Our goal is to provide our clients comprehensive and cost-optimal ornithological and chiropterological research, including both traditional observation methods and innovative radar techniques.

    We use a combination of traditional and modern birdlife observation methods. Data on bird flights collected by means of radars is interpreted by qualified ornithologists and chiropterologists. We always substantiate the interpretation of radar results with audio recordings of the audible sounds emitted by birds and the ultrasounds emitted by bats.

    Our research forms the basis for developing maps of bird activity, risk analysis with regard to bird and bat mortality rates in planned areas and investments that represent a potential threat to them, and for aviation safety analysis. These constitute the optimal tools in assessing the impact of investment projects on the environment, in the procedures required by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and in scientific studies.

    Our staff has many years of experience, gained in several European countries, in airspace research using mobile radars. Our registered office in Poland is in Bialystok, almost the geographical centre of Europe, so we can reach anywhere on the continent within a maximum of 40 hours. 

    Our radar system, based on equipment supplied by the Dutch company Robin Radar Systems B.V., is covered by regular online technical support and is provided continuous software updates. We follow closely the development of radar technology, and are at the forefront of firms dealing with these matters.

    Using our expertise and the latest radar techniques, we are able to help you in:

    • the planning, design and implementation of short-term and long-term radar studies for the purpose of carrying out environmental procedures and conducting research projects,
    • the analysis and interpretation of radar data collected in the field by our team and by means of other measuring instruments and teams working with clients,
    • traditional ornithological and chiropterological research, carried out in accordance with the applicable and required methodologies.

  • The principle behind the operation of the 3Bird Radar System

    Bird radar research.

    Constituting an integral part of the 3BRS system are radars designed and manufactured by the Dutch company Robin Radar Systems B.V., a world leader in radar technology applications in the study of birds. The innovative concept of a mobile measurement platform, enabling observations to be conducted in any place and allowing the operator to adjust the operating height of the radars to the field situations, was developed by our company, and here this concept underwent successful field tests.

    We use two types of radar in our studies:

    • an (S-Band) horizontal radar, rotating on a horizontal plane, mounted at a height of 3 to 5 metres above ground level (AGL)
    • an (X-Band) vertical radar, rotating on a vertical plane, mounted at a height of 3 metres AGL.

    Both radars are of Slotted Waveguide Array type construction, manufactured by the company Furuno.

    The 3BRS system additionally enables an X-Band radar to operate horizontally, which significantly broadens the scope of its application.

    The horizontal radar records flat coordinates (X, Y), while the vertical radar records the altitudes of bird and bat flights (Z). The coordinates of animals observed in the common operating area of ​​both radars are stored in three dimensions (3D) in a numerical database.

    Technical parameters

    The horizontal radar (Furuno, Model SN-36AF) – with an operating frequency of 3050 MHz (S-Band), a pulse power of 30 kW, and an average power consumption of 46W, is equipped with a 3.6 metre long antenna that rotates at 45 rpm (revolutions/minute). In order to measure flight coordinates, it emits short radio wave beams whose duration is 0.15 ms and size is 1.8° (height) x 12° (width).

    The vertical radar (Furuno, Model XN-24AF) – with an operating frequency of 9410 MHz (X-Band), a pulse power of 25kW, and an average power consumption of 26W, is equipped with a 2.4 metre long antenna that rotates at 30 rpm. In order to detect flight levels it emits short radio wave beams whose duration is 0.15 ms and size is 0.95° (height) x 20° (width).

    The distance at which individual birds and flocks of birds are detected depends on their size. In the case of large flocks of birds (e.g. a flock of geese, cormorants or cranes), the range of the 3BRS system is 10 km.

    3BRS is capable of recording the flight paths of birds and bats permanently inhabiting a study area (nesting) or migratory species. For each research or monitoring objective/program, the location of the measuring point is individually selected and the scanning parameters are individually tuned. The aim of this calibration is to tune the radar devices to their highest sensitivity and to record very high quality data, which ensures that the analyses carried out are methodically correct and statistically significant.

    The 3BRS system records the activity of birds and bats in digital and analogue form in real time. The geometric form of detected flight paths is stored in a PostgreSQL database in the form of vector objects (lines and points) and tables containing additional parameters. Using a wireless network connection, flight paths are displayed on the observer’s (field model) computer screen. This information is used by the ornithologist conducting traditional, visual observations to develop a key to assist in the interpretation/classification of radar study results. For flight paths recorded by radar and the ornithologist, information about the species, number of individuals in the flock, and flight altitudes is stored directly in the database.

    Every flight path registered by the radar includes a number of additionally recorded parameters, i.e. the time tracking began and ended, length of the flight, the average mass of the object tracked, average flight speed, flight direction, distance travelled, etc. These parameters are used in post-processing for grouping/classification of flight paths for statistical analyses. Classification involves matching flight paths stored in the database to model parameters, characteristic for the given species or species groups.

  • Traditional ornithological observations.

    Our studies include the use of traditional ornithological observation techniques (by the naked, unaided eye, using binoculars and an ornithological telescope) in order to determine selected bird population characteristics: species structure and selected parameters of their flights, so that following radar screen and visual identification of a specific individual, we may establish a classification (model) key for radar data acquired at night or beyond the range of human vision. Thanks to this, we can specify on a greater spatial scale the importance of a studied area as a habitat of avifauna and chiropterofauna.

  • Monitoring audible and ultrasonic wavebands.

    In the night hours, when visual observation is not possible and also in conditions of limited visibility during daylight, we carry out monitoring of the audible waveband. Recordings are made using a Telinga SSM directional microphone and a Zoom H6 digital recorder, mainly at night - in order to determine the species structure of migrating avifauna.
    In the night hours, we also monitor using a Lunabat DFR-1 ultrasonic detector, in order to analyze the activity of bats in the area adjacent to the radar point.