Speaker

Dr. Birgen Haest

Abstract

Trillions of insects, birds, and bats fly high over our heads whenever conditions allow, in pursuit of areas more suited to the respective stage of their annual cycle. Most of these movements go unnoticed: insect quickly become too small to see by eye, and bats and many birds migrate under the cover of darkness. Vertical-looking radars offer a powerful way to study these hidden movements. In this seminar, I will share insights on the numbers, timing, composition, behaviour, and movement dynamics of multi-taxon aerial migrations, drawing on radar observations integrated with field data and complementary sensors.