The stone-curlews is among Britain’s top threatened bird species and scientists are tracking them with GPS tracking technology in order to help create a habitat where it will be able to survive.
These birds also are referred to as thick-knees and dikkops. They originate from the family Burhinidae and have 9 nine different species. Two of the species live in Australia and the others are located in the temperate and tropical areas of the world. They prefer arid habitats despite them being classified as waders.
The stone-curlew is about the size of a crow and has bright yellow eyes. Around 30 years ago in the UK, it came close to extinction, not breeding anymore. With the help of conservation work, however, the number of these birds increased to about 400 breeding pairs. Stone-curlews are generally nocturnal and you can hear their loud wailing singing which brings true curlews to mind.
Stone-curlew and thick-knee are commonly used to reference the birds and each year, the preference of one term to another varies. Stone-curlews eat mostly invertebrates and insects and some of the larger birds will prey on small mammals and lizards.
The GPS tracking devices are being used so scientists can learn more about these birds and help landowners create better environments for them to nest and eat to sustain their species in the UK.
The information researchers are obtaining through this tracking is helping them learn different things they were not able to study before. This helps them determine what they need to do in order to ensure the survival of the species.
Through GPS tracking, scientists were able to discover that certain birds would travel far from their nests to reach their favored feeding site.
The stone-curlew species has actually doubled in number since the year 1985 thanks to conservation work by land managers, farmers, wildlife groups and gamekeepers.
The goal of conservationists is to create a habitat that is safe enough for the birds where they feed and nest and not be threatened by mechanized agriculture. GPS tracking seems to be doing this job well.
Even though the rate of thefts has dropped over the past years because of increased awareness and better technology, there are still some areas that are not so hot for you to park your vehicle.
California metropolitan areas, particularly the San Francisco Bay area, are the leading areas of auto theft in the nation, based on an insurance industry report. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, there were over 29,000 vehicle thefts in the Oakland-Hayward-San Francisco metropolitan area the previous year. This meant that for every 100,000 residents, 633 cars were stolen.
There are four ‘layers of protection’ that are recommended by the NICB to guard against car theft:
Common Sense
Warning Device
Immobilizing Device
GPS Tracking Device
Common Sense
This approach is among the most cost-effective and easiest to prevent potential thieves. Basically, it’s removing your keys from the car’s ignition, locking your windows and doors, and parking in well-lit areas.
Warning Device
This next approach is placing some type of device in the car to alert thieves that your car is protected. This can include devices such as audible alarms, brake locks, wheel locks, microdot marking, VIN etching or theft deterrent decals.
Immobilizing Device
This is a special device that prevents thieves from being able to bypass the ignition and hotwire your car. These include things like fuse cut-offs, smart keys, wireless ignition authentication and kill switches.
GPS Tracking Device
This GPS tracking device will emit a signal to the monitoring station or police in the event the car is stolen. These tracking devices help authorities recover the vehicle after its stolen. These tracking devices are important whether it is a personal vehicle stolen or part of a fleet business since they will alert the owner when the vehicle is moved and may be tracked through a computer.
Central and Northern California still continue to dominate the auto-theft Hot Spots report through NICB. Written in the Insurance Journal are the 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the year 2014 that has the highest car theft rate were:
1. Oakland-Hayward-San Francisco, California (Year 2014: 29,093; Year 2013: 29,326)
2. Bakersfield, California (5,211; 6,267)
3. Stockton-Lodi California (4,245; 4,245)
4. Odessa, Texas (886; 764)
5. Modesto, California (3,047; 3,565)
6. Spokane/Spokane Valley, Washington (3,032; 3,205)
7. Vallejo-Fairfield, California (2,414; 2,540)
8. Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma, Washington (20,268; 18,128)
9. Fresno, California (5,260; 6,750)
10. San Jose-Santa Clara-Sunnyvale, California (10,531; 10,925)
It was no easy task to compile all the data, according to Director of Public Affairs, Frank Scafidi. Since there are often multiple towns in the MSAs, NICB staff had to carefully go through each one in order to find component police forces after which compute the total theft number for the MSA in a specific year.
The best way for drivers to prevent car theft is to remember to lock their windows and doors and when leaving their vehicles, take their keys with them. Also, follow the four ‘layers of protection’ above.
Insurance costs for fleets, large or small, can be an uncomfortable bill to pay. If you find that your insurance costs are rising faster than you’d like, there are steps you can take that will help you drive your insurance costs down without reducing the essential coverage and protection your fleet requires, like the five listed below.
