I entered the library profession when technologies like RFID were already
established, so I'm not as awe-struck by things like self-check kiosks and
smart return chutes as many career librarians. What I do know is that this
technology has had a huge impact on how RFID-equipped libraries handle most
day-to-day business.
It's likely that RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) can have a similar
impact on bird research. It's already happening in some types of study.
Is your cat or dog microchipped? Than it has an RFID tag. The tag can be
read by a reader passed over the animal. Do you have a tollway transponder
in your vehicle? That uses the same technology - except that your dog has a
passive tag, and your car has an active (powered) one. Passive tags need to
be near the reader, while active tags can be some distance away, and even
not in line of sight. Currently, active tags are usually a bit big to fit
on birds, although geese and albatross can carry them.
Once we have the technology to power a tiny RFID tag so it can be read from
a greater distance, this seems to be the logical technology to replace
banding. Currently, you need to be holding your local Red-necked Stint to
read all the data from the leg band. With improved RFID technology,
researchers will scan a flock of nearby waders and get a readout of tagged
birds - along with all their previous data. Of course, some data can't be
recorded without the bird in the hand (weight, measurements) but as laser
measurement becomes more sophisticated, don't be surprised if a hand-held
scanner can estimate weight and other data for a bird it measures from a
distance.
We'll also have to find more humane ways of catching birds and attaching
tiny RFID tags. 50 years ago it was acceptable to shoot a few birds or
steal their eggs to study them closer. 20 years ago it was unthinkable to
study species like waders without netting and banding (two separate issues,
by the way!). Within the next decade or so, I predict that some of the
current practices will be deemed abhorrent and inhumane (some already are
by many people) so researchers will have to be smarter, use smarter
technology, and find new ways of collecting the data needed to fill the
multiple gaps in our knowledge of birds, their movements, their habitats,
their diets, their relationships with other species, including us.
Russell Woodford
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