Radar ornithology
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Radar ornithology is the use of radar technology in studies of bird migration and in approaches to prevent bird strikes particularly to aircraft. The technique was developed from the observations of pale wisps seen moving on radar during the Second World War. These were termed as "angels", "ghosts", or "phantoms" in Britain and were later identified as being caused by migrating birds. Over time, the technology has been vastly improved with Doppler weather radars that allow the detection of birds, bats, as well as insects with resolution and sensitivity that is sufficient to quantify the speed of flaps that can sometimes aid in the identification of species.
According to David Lack, the earliest recorded use of radar in detecting birds came in 1940. The movements of gulls, herons and lapwings that caused some of the detentions was visually confirmed. It was however only in the 1950s through the work of Ernst Sutter at Zurich airport that more elusive "angels" were confirmed to be caused by small passerines.[1] David Lack was one of the pioneers of radar ornithology in England.[2]