An Evening with Scott Weidensaul: MOTUS Towers and Bird-Friendly Coffee

Believe it or not, there is a connection between MOTUS towers and bird-friendly coffee, two seemingly unrelated topics! MOTUS (Latin for “movement or motion”) is an international research network that uses cooperative automated radio telemetry to track small, flying organisms such as songbirds and bats. The system enables a community of researchers, educators, organizations, and citizens to undertake impactful, cost-effective, research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. In order for this to work, MOTUS towers have to be installed in locations across key migratory flyways so that the birds wearing the tracking device can be detected. Currently, the closest MOTUS towers are southwest of Pekin and southeast of Clinton. Scott can explain why we should consider finding more locations across our region.

And why bird-friendly coffee? Because many of the birds that migrate through central Illinois spend their winters in parts of Central and South America where their habitat is now occupied by coffee plantations. Fortunately, there is a way to support both our feathered friends and our caffeine habit … with bird-friendly coffee grown in a way that supports high-quality habitat.