Bird Trapping Mechanism

This project is designed keeping in mind its smart applications for New York City in particular. As is noticed, every year between early May and mid-June large amounts of tree swallows migrate to Ithaca, NY area to mate. The study of these birds invariably requires a large number of specimens to be captured for purposes such as sample-taking, banding and measurements. The current method to capture a bird includes affixing a latch, attached with a fishing line, to the entrance of the nest box that the birds nest in, waiting from as far a distance from the nest as the fishing line/field of vision of the nest would allow for the birds to land in the nest, and pulling the latch across the nest box entrance with the fishing line. The procedure is really tedious and requires constant human vigilance and a baited trap. Engineers from Cornell University have come up with a unique idea to automate this whole mechanism. The system also updates the web server via (Wi-Fi based internet) about the trapper and a trap whenever a catch is found.

The major electronic components used in designing this trap include microcontroller ATMega644, passive infrared PIR sensor, Maxx400 servo motor and RN-134 configuration. This BTM is an attachment to the existing nest box with an extended section for camera housing and a modified latch for mechanical bird trapping. Whenever a bird enters the nest box, the PIR sensor triggers the MCU which drives the servo to close the latch. PIR is a piezoelectric device that detects motion by measuring changes in the infrared levels emitted by the surrounding objects.

Well, the next task is to render the mechanism fully automatic. Via UART a connection is established between ATMega644 and RN-134. This helps in broadcasting the server periodically that the trap mechanism is on regardless of the fact that the latch had been triggered. The RN-134 “SuRF” board is a field ready, Wi-Fi certified 802.11 b/g solution. The web server is written in PHP.

So try making this innovative project…!!