Bearded vulture nest monitoring, Alps. 2008

Planning and implementation of a real-time remote video monitoring station at a bearded vulture nest in Stelvio National Park

It was the winter of 2008 when we were asked for advice on how to set up a video monitoring system for the nest of a pair of bearded vultures in Stelvio National Park.

From the very beginning, it was clear that this would mean installing the system in a difficult and hostile environment. The question we were asked sounded more or less like this:
“Is it possible to install a system in the high mountains, in a shaded north-facing area, with harsh winters, heavy snowfall, and very few trees?”

The goal of the project was to collect information on the pair’s behavior at the nest, also with the aim of public outreach. The project was directly funded by Stelvio National Park and the Cariplo Foundation, a banking institution supporting research. The nest was chosen from three possible sites, based on the pair’s strong fidelity to that specific location.

For three consecutive years—and now a fourth—the pair had always selected the same site. In addition, among the three options, the chosen nest was the most accessible.

Planning

Since the location was described as:

REMOTE: we decided to use a digital Hyperlan connection, with one or two “signal bounces” to overcome obstacles and cover the distance.
COVERED BY TREES: we used an oceanographic cable, along with two Ethernet extenders, to carry the signal out of the wooded area to a more favorable transmission point.
SNOWY: we are in the high mountains, so of course there is snow. We installed a photovoltaic system with a tilt angle steeper than optimal, to encourage snow to slide off the panels.
COLD: we chose electronic components certified to operate down to -35°C, to ensure functionality even during the harshest winters.
NORTH-FACING: sigh… really? The north-facing exposure, which drastically reduces photovoltaic efficiency, turned out to be the most significant technical constraint of the entire installation.

How did we do it?

We went up to the site about eight times: twice for preliminary inspections, twice for transport and installation, and four times for checks and improvements.

We only visited the nest directly once, but we plan to return at some point, since at the time of writing this text (late summer 2017), the nest appears to be abandoned.
Most of the work was carried out between September and October 2009.

We had planned an intervention in September 2010 to replace the video camera, but the fledgling, now grown, was still present and it was not safe to interfere with its stay at the nest.

We used a waterproof digital video camera with an IP interface, protected by an additional wooden housing.

We laid about 250 meters of reinforced oceanographic cable to carry the signal out of the wooded area to a clearing, where we installed an 800 W photovoltaic system.

Although the system consumes only 15 W, the exposure and orientation of the panels are not optimal, and we still wanted to ensure continuity of the video feed even during the darkest periods of the year.

The site remains completely in the shade for over two months during the peak of winter. During that time, the little energy produced comes from indirect sunlight, reflected by the snow on the mountains opposite.

We also installed a GSM remote control system, allowing us to turn on, shut down, or restart the equipment’s power supply at any time.

The video stream is transmitted digitally to the opposite mountain, where an autonomous station (equipped with two antennas, a solar panel, and minimal electronics) serves as a relay point and forwards the signal to the final receiving antenna.

The overall link covers about 12 kilometers.

The receiving antenna is connected to the Internet and enables live streaming of video and still images to the public.
In addition, the entire stream is recorded through a digital video recorder, providing a complete archive of all images captured by the system at any time.

We’ve got the video!

Maybe the image quality isn’t good enough for a documentary, but for us it’s more than sufficient: it allows us to see what happens at the nest, which is the main goal.

The images are a bit slow, but since 2010 we’ve upgraded the connection: now the stream is stable and fairly smooth.

We can also set up alarms in case something crosses certain areas of the frame.

We have the full video recording of every time the camera has been switched on.

And of course, we also have an internet connection, which allows us to observe the nest online
(and the bearded vulture can check its emails from home!).