Researchers use weather radar to track migrating waterfowl, avian influenza.

Researchers use weather radar to track migrating waterfowl, avian influenza.Researchers are part of an effort that will use weather radar to identify wetland hotspots used by waterfowl during the winter, which in turn can alert poultry growers about the potential risk of avian influenza. The lab involved in the study is one of the only labs anywhere using weather radar data to map bird distributions at the ground level.The researchers are able to identify the birds' location based on their well synchronized take-off movements. In the case of waterfowl, they engage in feeding flights in the winter. They'll roost in the wetlands during the day and they fly out to agricultural fields -- primarily flooded rice fields in California -- at night. When they take off and fly into the radar, we get an instant snapshot of where they were on the ground.continue