ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has found a unique approach to tracking wildlife. The DEC has been taking to the skies in an effort to better track the lives and behaviors of animals.

"You can actually see in places you would never dream of being able to see from the ground," said Drone Pilot Gary McPherson. "Human intervention sometimes will disturb the wildlife, where we can fly over the top and zoom in on them."

New York has the largest breeding population of any state in the Atlantic flyaway. That's the migration route for birds on the East Coast. But Wildlife Biologist Josh Stiller said the mallard population has been declining for about 25 years and drones could help change that.

"We're going to learn what makes a successf

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