A METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY DETECTING

BIRDS ON RADAR

BY RONALD P. LARKIN AND LAWRENCE EISENBERG

INTRODUCTION

Radar,sinceit canhavea greatrangeand doesnot depend special

conditions
tobeuseful,
isthemost
versatile
means
wehave
or'studying
migratorybehavior(Alerstam,1972).Asidefrom trackingradar, which
is presentlyusedto followindividualbirdsor sometimes compactflocks,
other radar types are used to estimatethe densityof bird migration,
provideinformationon the altitudesof flight, and estimatethe direction
of flight of bird targets.
In radar studies,birdsappearassmalldotsor brightareason a display
screen.The imageson the screenare photographedor visuallyde-
scribedby techniquesreviewedbelow, and estimatesof the number of
dotspresentare recordedby hand.The writtenrecordis necessarily of
a statisticalnature, being almostalwaysa descriptionof the migration
of many speciesand subjectto many uncertainties.Often the investi-
gatorturnsto the useof digitalcomputersto analyzethe writtenrecord,
transferringit onto punchedcardsor other computermedia.Thus most
contemporarytechniquesstart with an electronicsignalin the radar
representinga bird target or targetsand end with an electronicsignal
in a digitalcomputer,but interposeseveraltediousand often subjective
stepsbetween.
In the presentreport we describea way of improving this clearly
unsatisfactory stateof affairs,a techniquethat allowsechoesfrom bird
targetsto be recordeddirectlyby a computer or microprocessor, per-
mitting the biologistto studythe spatialand temporalpatternsof bird
movementswith increasedaccuracyand objectivity.We review present
methodsof collectingornithologicaldata from radar displaysand dis-
cusssomereasonsfor the unsophisticated natureof the techniques
used.
Then we list somemethodsdevelopedby othersto processradar signals
automaticallyand describea devicewe have built that allowsgreat flex-
ibility of operationat a reasonablecost.
METHODS OF ESTIMATING BIRD DENSITY VISUALLY
OR PHOTOGRAPHICALLY

Immense numbers of birds in the sky and our almost universalin-

ability to distinguishwith certaintybetweentaxa of birds from their
radar echoesmakedescriptivestatistics an importantpart of radar stud-
iesof bird migration.A basicdatumin manysuchstudiesis the number
of birds in a certain altitude stratum,at a certain place,or at a certain
time of day or night. Givenan accuraterepresentationof the amplitude
of the signalpresentat the receiverof a radar and a knowledgeof the
calibratedcharacteristics of the radar, in many casesone shouldbe able
to make an accurate estimation of the numbers and size distribution of
targetswithin the spacesurveyedby the radar. Yet, unlesscomplicated
172
Vol.49,No.2 Detecting
BirdEchoes [ 173

proceduresare followedto compareradar and visualmethods(Nisbet,

1963; Gauthreaux, 1970), reliable absolute estimates of bird densities
are not often obtainedusingradar alone. As a result, many studiesof
bird migrationreport onlyrelativenumbersof birds,oftenon an ordinal
scale,or give estimatesthat are basedon unjustifiedassumptions.
Somecausesfor thissituationare inherent in propertiesof sometypes
of radar: anomalouspropagation(bendingof the radar beam), insuf-
ficientrangeresolution,insufficientangularresolutiondue to the shape
of the radar beam, and insufficientsensitivityat the rangesof interest.
Other causes,however,are avoidableif quantitativeinformation isavail-
able on the intensities of bird echoes and the characteristics of the radar.
These include: lack of absolutecalibrationof the radar on known spher-
ical reflectors,lack of accurateknowledgeof the shapeof the radar
beamor the settingsand electroniccharacteristics
of the radar, and lack
of sufficientdynamicrange in the radar display.We expect that the
latter classof avoidabledifficultiescan be minimized by taking advan-
tage of the numericaltechniquesafforded by direct computerinput of
the radar video signal.The devicedescribedhere can be programmed
to aid in calibratingand measuringthe performanceof a radar aswell
as in collectingdata.
Techniquesused to estimatebird densitiesfrom radar displayshave
variedin precisionand tediousness of applicationbut are basicallyvisual
estimations(Eastwood,1967). Severalstudieshave useda pencil beam
in combinationwith an A-scope(a radar displayof echo intensityas a
function of slant range) to count individual echoes(reviewedin Blok-
poel, 1969;Brudererand Steidinger,1972;Blokpoeland Burton, 1975;
Blokpoel,1976). Other investigatorshavecountedthe numbersof in-
dividualdotsappearingon the PPI display(Plan-PositionIndicator, the
conventionalmap-like radar display; Nisbet, 1963) or measuredthe
rangeat whichsaturationof the PPI displayoccurs(Gauthreaux,1974).
Gauthreaux(1970) describes a methodof adjustingthe gain of a search
radar sothat the PPI matchesa predeterminedstandarddensityof bird
echoesat a givenrange.The attenuationnecessary to producea density
match is recorded and converted into an estimate of bird density. A
similar method is describedby Hunt (1973). Lesstedious,but alsoless
accurateand lesseasilycalibrated,is the methodof establishing a graded
ordinal seriesof dot-densitiesand matchingphotographsof the PPI
displaywith one of the membersof the series.The resultingdot-density
estimateis related to, but not necessarilya simple function of, the bird
migrationdensity.The scalesusedhave employedthree (Williamset al.,
1974),five (Gauthreaux,1970),six (Alerstam,1972), or nine (Blokpoel,
1969;Richardson,1972)categories.
Severalreasonsare apparent for the presentlack of sophisticationin
radar ornithology:(1) Like weather radar (Smith et al., 1974) radar
ornithologyhas developedas a "spinoff"from military, space,and air-
traffic-controlapplications.Consequently,techniquesthat are now rou-
tine in other radar applicationsare untried in the studyof birds. (2)
174] R. P. LarkinandL. Eisenberg Bird-Banding
Spring 1978

Except for a few installations,the radars used by ornithologistsare

meant to monitor weather systemsor aircraft, and are used for orni-
thologyin slackperiodsor asan ancillaryproject.In fact, improvements
in the designof radars for aircraft detectionhave often been suchas to
reduceclutteron the screenssuppressing birds alongwith ground tar-
getsand water droplets(Miller, 1975). Somedayit may be difficult to
observebird movementson many radarsunlessthe specialcircuitsde-
signed to suppressbird echoescan be bypassedand the "raw radar"
(amplified video) signal displayedfor the ornithologist(Gauthreaux,
1977).(3) Studentsof birdsare primarilyinterestedin biologicalques-
tions and have neither the backgroundnor the funds to apply highly
sophisticatedtechniques.(4) Even the conventionaltechniquesallowthe
investigatorto collectan enormousamount of data in a shorttime. Then
the sheerquantityof informationfilling one'sfile cabinetsdiscourages
one from gatheringmore detaileddata by more sophisticated means.
(5) Most importantly, the currently used techniquesare useful in that
they continueto provide new insightsinto migration and other high-
altitude flights of birds.
METHODS OF DETECTING TARGETS ON RADAR AUTOMATICALLY

Visual displayssuchasthe PPI scopediscardmuch of the information

that is availablefrom the radar signal;for example,the amplituderange
of a PPI dot is only about 6 dB. Since echoeson radar are electrical
signals,it is desirableto substitutea deviceto processthesesignalselec-
trically, insteadof displayingthem visuallyand recording this visual
representationon photographicfilm.
To our knowledge,other techniquesfor dealingwith the radar video
signalhave suffered from low resolution,high cost,or both. Many de-
vicesgenerateonly target/notarget information (discussed in Hansen,
1974). Boardman (1970) and Smith et al. (1974) describea cloud "pro-
filer" that recordsecho strengthson computer disk from range bins
which are 1,280 m in length. The system,designedto map cloudsout
to 111 km, usesa fixed bin length and cannotbe adapted for high
resolutionwithout prohibitiveexpense.Glover (1972) describesa spe-
ciallybuilt devicethat achievesa 75 m rangebin length. Hunt (1975,
1977) deviseda bird-countingsystemfor aid in predictionof bird-air-
craft collisions.It is hardwired and is designedto count numbersof
birds in 305-m bins along the radar beam. A new "Moving Target De-
tector" (ARTS-3) designedfor air traffic control expresslysuppresses
slow-movingtargetssuchasbirds,while recordingradar echoesto 100
m resolution(Anon., 1975). The Moving Target Detectormaintainsa
"clutter map" similar to the idea describedbelow. Its productioncostis
about$70,000.Similarly,a numberof computer-based targetdetectors
on military equipmentare designedto detectlarge, fast-movingtargets
at great range, and to reject birds as "clutter."
Two constraintsmake radar signalsof smalltargetslike birds some-
what difficult to capture by conventionalmeans in digital form at a
Vol.49,No.2 Detecting
BirdEchoes [ 175

reasonableprice. First, the analog-to-digital(A/D) converterthat sam-

plesthe radar signalmustbe very fast comparedto the onesnormally
availablein laboratorycomputers,and secondlythe memoryunit that
receivesthe radar data mustbe equallyfast to copewith the output of
the A/D converter. As an illustration of the cost of such devices, an A/
D converterthat can sample8 bits every 33 nseccurrentlycostsabout
$6,000 and a transientrecorderwith computer-compatible output,op-
eratingevery 50 nsec,costsabout$5,600.
THE VIDEO SAMPLING UNIT

By usinga samplingprocedureinsteadof a fastconversion,we have

constructed a relativelyinexpensivedevicewhichallowsthe information
containedin the radar videosignalto be transferreddirectlyto a com-
puter or microprocessor, permittingaccurate,detailed,and quantitative
analysisof numbers,sizedistributions,and spatialdistributionsof bird
echoes.The device,whichwe havecalleda Video SamplingUnit (VSU),
is simplein principle.It is containedon a singleprintedcircuitboard
and functionsas a peripheraldeviceto a PDP 8/E minicomputer,al-
though it could easilybe adapted to work with many typesof digital
machinesincludingthe inexpensiveand rapidly developingmicropro-
cessors.The prototypewas constructedin the RockefellerUniversity
ElectronicsLaboratoryand costlessthan $2,000 includinginstallation
and modifications,but not including the costof the minicomputer.(A
circuitdiagramand other detailsare availablefrom the authors.)
The VSU canbe adaptedto any pulsedradar. It hasbeendesigned
to be usedwith an AN/MPQ-29 pencil-beamtrackerwith a 4 kHz nom-
inal pulserepetitionfrequency(PRF), and 0.25 /.secpulsewidth (fur-
ther described in Larkin and Sutherland, 1977).
A simplifiedblock diagramof the VSU is shownin Figure 1. Its op-
erationis similarto sweepsamplingunits whichare soldas accessories
to somesophisticated oscilloscopesystems(alsocalled"serialsampling";
Findlay and Ornstein, 1975). It convertsthe radar echoamplitude into
a digitalform by collectingone sample,at a narrowand specifiedrange,
for each pulse transmittedby the radar. The VSU differs from the
conventional sweep-sampling devicebecausethe rangeof eachsample
is determinedby the computerprogram.It canbe programmedto sam-
ple eachrange'bin' in turn, producingthe informationcontainedin an
A-scopedisplayor, with antennapositioninformationavailableto the
computer,that in a PPI or Range-Heightdisplay.Or it can be pro-
grammedto sampleoneor a few rangebins,generating
dataidealfor
wingbeator target "signature"analysis.
The initiationof a sampleis precededby transferringan 8-bit num-
ber, correspondingto the complementof a number representinga
rangeof 0-255 units,from the computerto a fast8-bitcounterin the
VSU. When the next radar trigger occurs,an enablingflip-flopis set
that servesto gatea 20 MHz crystaloscillatorinto the counter.The
counter counts down until it reaches zero at which time three events are
176] R. P. LarkinandL. Eisenberg Bird-Banding
Spring 1978

RADAR VSU COMPUTER

A/D
Video
Converter

I i
' T I]
20MH,
Pulse
Clock
' BI!
Trigger
FIGURE1. A block diagram of the principal elementsin the VSU interface.The path
alongthe top (radar video,amplifier,S/H, A/D converter)carriesthe analogsignal,
whereasthe rest of the circuitis basicallydigital. Abbreviations:S/H = sample-and-
hold,A/D = analog-to-digital,O.S. = one-shot,F.F. = flip-flop.

initiated:(1) the enablingflip-flopis resetstoppingthe clockentry into

the counter; (2) a fast sampleand hold unit is triggered and put into a
samplemodefor a periodof 50 nsec(7.5 m) by meansof a 50 nsecone-
shot;(:3)the A/D converterof the computeris alsotriggered,initiating
a conversionand settingthe computerinterrupt requestline when the
conversionis complete.As a result, the VSU collectsa very fast sample
of the radar video signalat a specifiedtime followingthe radar pulse
and presentsit to the computer'sA/D converter.The A/D converter,
whichis the standardmodelsoldby the computermanufacturer,takes
up to 30/zsecto perform the conversion.The computercan then trans-
fer a new 8-bit value to the VSU, arming it for another conversionat
the next radar trigger pulse.
The accuracyand resolution of the VSU were determined more by
convenience and economics rather than by whatis possiblewith modern
electronics.The 20-MHz clockhasa stabilityof 5 x 10-5 over the range
of 0 to 50C. The 50-nsecinterval between counts results in a range
uncertaintyof ___7.5 m, plusa negligibleuncertaintydue to jitter in the
radar trigger pulse.The 8-bit counterprovidesa total range intervalof
7.5 x 256 or 1,920 m, of which the first 180 m is currently uselesssince
it precedesthe outgoingradar pulsein time. A completesequentialscan
of the 1,920-m range takes 64 msec (256 samples/4,000PRF). If
usedwith a radar with longer range and longer pulselength, different
trade-offsof theseparametersmight be chosenwithout an increasein
cost.Ten-bit amplitude resolution,determined by the A/D converter,
Vol.49,No.2 Detecting
BirdEchoes [ 177

provides a measure of echo strength that is far more accurate than

needed.
The temporal resolution of the VSU is also sufficient for studying
birds in the radar beam. As mentioned above,the VSU can generatea
completesequentialscaneach64 msec.Sincethe maximumspeedof a
bird might be about 40 m/sec,the bird would move a maximum of only
about 2.6 m or V3of a range bin width, between one sweepand the
next. It is only when movingthe radar beam at high angular velocities
that a completesequentialscanmight provideinsufficientdata ratesfor
detectingand locatingbird targets.In this case,programmingsolutions
to concentrateon certain areasof the beam would be easyto implement.
Trials using a rotating antenna show that 2-8 recognizableblips, or
"hits"are attainedon singledistantbird targets,evenwhen conducting
completesequentialscanswhile rotating the antennaat 10-20 degrees/
sec.

In practice,we have found that the digitized radar signalis nearly as

useful as the actual radar video signal even for purposesof visually
observingmigratingbirds on radar. A singlecompletesequentialscan
during a night of fall migration is shownin Figure 2. The displayis a

FIGURE2. A photographof a digital reconstruction of the A-scopedisplay,storedby a

singleVSU scan.Eachdot represents the signalstrengthat one 50 nsecintervalfrom
the radar pulsetrigger correspondingto approximately7.5 m range.The displayis
1,920m in total range.(a), The outgoingradar pulse,or "mainbang,"definingrange
zero. (b), A peakrepresenting groundclutterat shortrange.(c) and (d), Two bird
targetsat more distant ranges.
178] R. P. LarkinandL. Eisenberg Bird-Banding
Spring 1978

digital versionof the conventionalA-scopedisplayof echostrengthas

a functionof slantrange. Sincethe trigger precedesthe outgoingradar
pulse ("main bang") in time, the values at the extreme left contain no
echoes.Becauseadjacentsamplesare taken only 250 txsecapart, the
shapeof the bird echoesis not distortedby the samplingtechnique.The
displayshownin Figure2 is generatedin real time and the operatorcan
compareit to the A-scopedisplayon the radar to verify that the VSU
is operating correctly.
QUANTITATIVE RECORDS OF BIRD MIGRATION

Potentially,all the information availablefrom the conventionalradar

displays,locationof targetsin range,target echostrength,rangeveloc-
ity, and echo signature,is availablefrom the video samplingunit as
accuratenumerical quantities.These data can then be processedim-
mediatelyby a computer or microprocessorto provide information
which is more meaningfulthan is availablefrom a PPI or A-scopedis-
play analyzedby hand.
As an exampleof what is possibleafter a modestamountof processing
is performed on the raw VSU data, Figure 3 illustratesthe passageof
two birds through a stationaryconicalradar beam on a night of heavy
fall migration, 11 November 1976. Severalsimpleoperationswere per-
formed to produceFigure 3. On the day previous,a recordof several
VSU scanshad been taken, averaged,and stored for later use. This
stored record provided a sampleof the radar noiseand clutter at the
radar site.Then similarrecordswere taken during the period of noc-
turnal passefinemigration and the noise record was subtractedfrom
each,providinga distribution-free(Vogel et al., 1975) meansof iden-
tifying the bird targets.The data were then scaledto arbitrary values
0-9 in order to constructthe printed imageof target height and range
as a function of time in Figure 3. (Figure 2 is a record of one scan
occurringabout second6 in Figure 3.)
Ground clutter is presentat extremelycloserangeseven after the
noisesubtractionoperation;nearby vegetationprobablybecamemore
reflectiveat night becauseof dew formation. Two birds appear and
disappeargraduallyasthey fly through the verticalbeam,not changing
in range sincethey are presumablyflying nearly level. The closerbird
is either a much smaller target than the farther bird or is passing
through the edge of the beam rather than its center.
By taking advantageof the flexibilityafforded by the computercon-
trol overthe VSU, it will be possibleto gathercompletelydifferent kinds
of data than thoseillustratedin Figures2 and 3. For example,the VSU
canbe usedwith a trackingradar in a signatureanalysismodeto gather
dataon the wingbeatsof bird targetsand analyzethem usingfrequency-
domaintechniques,withoutthe phaselags,filtering,and nonlinearities
usuallyinherent in data taken from automaticgain control circuits.In
this mode, the computercan conducta sequentialscanof all or part of
the beam,locatingone or severaltargetsof interest.It can then sample
Vol.40,No.2 Detecting
BirdEchoes [ 179

_
1221
111

111
11
Ground clutter
111 /
11
1111 Birds
_ 111
121 1
121 121
221 1121
2321 13441
1432 12421
13431 13552
234421 13542
4- 23432 145521
23321 11 245531
11121 11 124&521
11121 21 245521
I 131 1231 357741
12232 111 1457741
11232 2442 1357741
111132 2321 134542
6- 11111 12431 24642
11121 13442 2331
11111 13431 1321
1211 122 2452
1111 1231 12452
11221 11 122
11111 11 1
21111 11 11
8- 11111 1
11111
1111
1212
11221

I0- i i i i 1. I
I00 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Range (rn)
FOURE 3. A printed recordof two birds passingthrough a stationaryradar beam.The
VSU, running continuously,obtaineda scanapproximatelyevery qt6sec.Each tbur
consecutive scanswere averagedtogetherto generatea line approximatelyevery
sec,starting at the top of the figure. On the horizontal axis, each two adjacentrange
bins were averagedtogetherso that a characterrepresents15 m range. Where the
radar video signalwasbelow the averagenoise(measuredpreviouslyat each range
intervalby the VSU), the record is blank. Signalsabovethis thresholdare indicated
by a number correspondingto the echo height in arbitrary linear units 1-9.

at high rates (up to the PRF) near each target, recording amplitude
fluctuationsas a function of time. Since the data stored represent ab-
soluteecho strengths,the task of correlatingtarget sizewith wingbeat
characteristicswould becomemanageableinsteadof extremelylabori-
ous.

The use of devicessuch as the VSU will allow significantimprove-

mentsin radar ornithology.Large amountsof precisedata can be gath-
ered and analyzedquickly, insteadof requiring monthsof tediouscat-
alogingand scoringof photographs.In order to gainsuchimprovements,
180] R. P. LarkinandL. Eisenberg Bird-Banding
Spring 1978

the investigatormustinvestin someelectronichardware(minicomputer

or microcomputerplus VSU) and must further investtime in program-
mingthe computerto controlthe VSU in conjunctionwith a givenradar
unit. But the continuingincreasein popularityand decreasein priceof
small computerswill make the initial investmenteasier in the future.
SUMMARY

Mostof the presentlyavailablemethodsfor takingornithologicaldata

from radar displaysare time-consuming and only partly quantitative.A
deviceis describedthat costsunder $2,000 and allowsthe videosignal
from any pulsedradar to be transferreddirectly to a computeror mi-
croprocessor.All the information available from conventional radar
A-scopedisplaysmay be derivedfrom the device,termed a Video Sam-
pling Unit, as accurate numerical quantities. With appropriate
programming,distributionsof bird altitudesand sizes,wingbeatanalysis
and other informationrelevantto bird migrationmay be obtained.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The constructionof the VSU wassupportedby a grant from the Mary

Flagler Cary Trust of Millbrook, NY. We thank William Kocsisfor tech-
nical assistance
and Donald R. Griffin for commentson the manuscript.
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TheRockefeller
University,
NewYork,NY 10021. Received4 August 1977,
accepted24 January 1978.