Back May 19, 2026 and on August 4, 2025 we posted about purchasing a new type of wildlife tag that can be detected by cell phones and other IoT devices (think AirTags) as they travel. In addition, they are detectable by both the increasing numbers of Motus stations equipped to detect relatively new 2.4 GHz tags as well as home-based stations on the Terralistens network. With the help of grants from NRCS and other sources to the Kern River Audubon Preserve, including funds raised during our recent donation drive (Give Big Kern 2026), we were able to purchase 10 of these new tags. We have deployed six of the tags successfully so far on Tricolored blackbirds (Agelaius tricolor) near the SSRS station. To our surprise we are now getting a remarkable amount of data on local movements as well as regional movements of the tagged birds.
Recently, we were checking on what local movements had occurred since our last check and noticed a bird actively leaving the Kern River Valley via the Kern River Canyon. It was last seen moving North along the Interstate 5 corridor.
Stay tuned for more on where this tag is being detected as it moves through the central valley.
