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Thermal drone supports breeding bird survey
First aerial mapping of nests using heat-sensing technology
In April 2025, a thermal drone was used for the first time in the LIFE Limicodra project to map breeding sites of lapwing, redshank, and black-tailed godwit. The result: 69 confirmed nests on just 50 hectares – a promising outcome for bird conservation.
Conservation meets technology: Early morning thermal flights
Now in its eighth breeding season, the LIFE Limicodra project has broken new ground in bird monitoring: For the first time, a breeding area near Mönkebude (Vorpommern-Greifswald district) was surveyed using a professional thermal imaging drone. The early-morning flights took place in cooperation with the company thermal DRONES.
Co-founder and landscape ecologist Tobias Dahms launched the drone at around 4:00 a.m. while the ground was still cool, in order to detect the heat signatures of potential nest sites.
A promising start
The final count: 55 lapwing nests, 9 godwit nests, 5 redshank nests, and several unidentifiable ones. For a 50-hectare polder area, this is a very strong result – and a clear sign that the extensive conservation measures of recent years are having an impact.
Since the project began, numerous restoration efforts have been implemented: ditches were cleared, water control structures installed, mobile fences set up and removed, land management adapted, and predator control introduced – all with the goal of giving ground-nesting birds a real chance to breed successfully.
Looking ahead
Following the successful test run, further flights using the Matrice 4T drone are planned – potentially to locate fledglings later in the season. This could improve monitoring not only of clutch numbers but also of breeding success.
Since many of these birds return to their birthplace after wintering on the North Sea coast, in southern Europe or West Africa, habitat quality at the nesting site is key. If conditions remain favorable, the return of stable breeding populations in the region is within reach. The first step has been taken.
Image gallery (below)
Many thanks to Tobias Dahms for providing the drone images, which include both thermal images and normal optical images.
