Mount Pleasant Magazine Jan/Feb 2020

188 www.MountPleasantHomes.com | www.MountPleasantAgents.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com lowcountry cuisine A udubon South Carolina and its partners, including Charleston Audubon, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service, have coordinated to install a Motus tower at Fort Moultrie Visitor’s Center on Sullivan’s Island. The wildlife tracking system is part of an international network of Motus towers that have been installed to more effectively track the movements and migratory patterns of birds and other wildlife, such as bats and butterflies. The Fort Moultrie tower is accessible to the public and will eventually include an interpretive sign. To gain a better understanding of the full life cycles of vulnerable migratory species, the towers use radio telemetry to track wildlife migration. Audubon South Carolina is collaborating with South Carolina DNR, Bird Studies Canada and other partners to create a network of towers via Audubon South Carolina Bird-Friendly Communities throughout the state. The organization finds community partners to host the towers (e.g., Charleston Audubon is sponsoring the Fort Moultrie tower). The first tower to go live in Audubon South Carolina’s Motus tower network was sponsored by the Dewees Island Conservancy on Dewees Island, one of Audubon South Carolina’s Bird-Friendly Communities. Other towers that have been installed include those at Cape Romain, Kiawah, Edisto, Daufuskie Island, Harbor Island, Hunting Island and the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. The idea is that a network of towers can trace a bird’s path more reliably, explained Jennifer Tyrrell, coordinator for Audubon South Carolina Bird-Friendly Communities. BY COLIN MCCANDLESS ‘ Bird is the word’ Fort Moultrie Tower Part of International Research Collaboration Audubon South Carolina installed a Motus Tower to track migratory patterns of birds and wildlife at Fort Moultrie Visitor’s Center on Sullivan’s Island. Photos provided by Motus Wildlife Tracking System.