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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: LogOn Bird Migration Tech (TV, R)
HEADLINE: LogOn: Big Data and Farmers Create Instant Wetlands to Help Migrating Birds
TEASER: Guided by data from a bird-watching app, conservationists provide targeted food and habitat in California’s parched Central Valley
PUBLI:SHED AT: 7/12/2022 AT 8:30AM
BYLINE: Matt Dibble
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: COLUSA, CA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Matt Dibble
PRODUCER: Matt Dibble
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Holly Franko
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original, Storyblocks, The Nature Conservancy, California Rice Commission, Point Blue Conservation Science, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership, Google Earth
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO _X_
TRT: 1:57
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TV/R
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Guided by data from a bird-watching app, conservationists and farmers are creating instant wetlands for birds traveling thousands of miles. Matt Dibble has the story.]]
((NARRATOR))
It’s like a pop-up restaurant, this temporary wetland in California’s Central Valley, created at just the right time and place to serve migrating birds on a very long journey.
[[For Radio: … says Rodd Kelsey of the conservation group The Nature Conservancy.]]
((Rodd Kelsey, The Nature Conservancy))
“Two hundred years ago if you were a bird flying over this landscape, what you would have seen is a mosaic of wetlands and grasslands that provided abundant bugs and other food for you to eat. Since then, what we've seen is this landscape has turned into a patchwork of almost wall-to-wall agriculture.”
((NARRATOR))
Bird populations have dropped dramatically from lack of food and habitat during migrations stretching up to 11,000 kilometers.
((NARRATOR))
This rice field would normally be dry at this time of year. An innovative conservation program is paying farmers to flood fields for a few weeks at a time to provide habitat and food.
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: Google Earth))
Determining when and where to flood fields is critical to the program’s success.
((NARRATOR))
This is where eBird comes in. It’s a free app used by birdwatchers to record sightings.
((Rodd Kelsey, The Nature Conservancy)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: Cornell Lab of Ornithology))
“And all of those observations can be used to make predictions of where birds will be most abundant, at which times of the year.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: Point Blue Conservation Science/The Nature Conservancy))
Using the eBird models, combined with satellite data predicting where water naturally occurs, team members can identify gaps and determine which fields make the most sense to flood.
((NARRATOR))
Montna Farms has flooded some of its 162 hectares for the program.
[[For Radio: Jon Munger is manager of the farm]]
((Jon Munger, Montna Farms))
“White-faced ibis, it was a bird that maybe 21 years ago I'd see one or two of them, now I'm seeing flocks and thousands of them on the farm.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory Courtesy: California Rice Commission))
The project’s success has spurred a rice industry group to launch its own program working with farmers.
((NARRATOR))((Mandatory Courtesy: Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership))
Matt Dibble for VOA News, Colusa, California.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)COLUSA, CA
BylineMatt Dibble
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
