Global Positioning System

GPS technology can be integrated into falconry activities.  Right now you can mark the sites of the eyries you locate.  This provides the ability to locate those nests that seem to disappear in the forest when you go back later in the year or subsequent years.  You can keep records to help track the activity of the nest site, the young hatched, fledged etc.  These records can be very valuable when persuading government agencies to recognize the need to make decisions based on biology and not politics - records help establish your credibility.

The GPS Software category lists companies that provide software that integrates your GPS waypoints (the places you've marked) with topographical maps.  This allows you to accurately see on a map the position of the nest sites, or other places you've marked.

Another exciting aspect of GPS technology is the time (in the future) when standard telemetry technology can be married with GPS technology.  Can you imagine knowing (not guessing) where your bird is.  Having this displayed on your receiver relative to your current position.  You could also determine the pitch of your bird (no more guessing) the speed it stoops at etc.  Yes, this is down the road a bit but the technology isn't to far away.  Let the telemetry producers know of your interest in this to help them ascertain the viability of allocating resources to make it happen.

If you have any information about how this concept can gain momentum, please forward it to the Webmaster at Todd at RaptorsNest.com.

For an example of how GPS can be used today with falconry:  England

The software in this example can be obtained from: Robin Lovelock