Ron Efrat

An enthusiastic bird ringer and bird watcher for several years, since I started my BA it was clear to me that my Msc will be about birds. In the research I am lucky to conduct I examine the Pelicans motivations for their actions during migration: Why do they start flying at the time they start, why do they fly the daily distance they fly etc. Previous studies have shown that birds have two contradicting motivations: the will to save energy and the will to save time. In my research, I wish to understand which of this motivations led to the Pelicans decisions, and by doing so to be able to predict future decisions. For this research I use GPS transmitters which are mounted on the Pelicans on their migration route south, when passing through Israel, this transmitters can "tell me" about the Pelicans location and their behavior in high resolution. Using this data combined with environment and meteorological data, I analyze the Pelicans decisions and motivations.