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There is hardly a day that goes by that we don’t read or hear something regarding AI, and more often than not, the stories are not always positive. All too often, we read about the negative impacts this new technology will have on jobs and how it is becoming ever more difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. But, as with almost all new advances in science and technology, there is a positive aspect, and for many birders, the use of bird song recognition apps on their phones has helped considerably when struggling to ID a bird. These apps use AI to carry out their tasks and often do so quickly and accurately, but not always; however, they are getting better all the time.

This technology has recently been introduced in my own area, in fact, within an ornithological society of which I’m a member. The Shropshire Ornithological Society has teamed up with Harper Adams University and The Green Box project, which has resulted in the installation of equipment that is powered by solar panels and which monitors the bird song in the area surrounding the society’s nature reserve. The data collected is uploaded to the cloud, where AI identifies the birds and their locations. Dr Joseph Mhango from Harper Adams, in a recent interview with the BBC, said, “Data scientists at Harper Adams will take over and analyse trends – what sort of migratory birds are coming to Shropshire over time, what sort of local species persist.”

 

This monitoring will take place over the next few months, and it will be interesting to see what the results are. It was interesting to find out that this technology is not only available via apps on our phones but also via a device known as PUC, which stands for Portable Universe Codec. These small green devices can be set up in a garden and will provide the same information as that gained by the Harper Adams team and made available via the Birdweather app and website. Not so long ago, the use of trail cameras was seen as cutting edge, but now it would seem that these new nature recorders will provide us with even more insight into what bird species there are in a given area and which ones are passing through.

 

Birdsong has always been an area of fascination for many birders, if for no other reason than it provides yet another clue to help with the identification of a bird. But it also stirs the emotions and offers an acoustic prompt for memories, with songs like that of the Blackbird being so synonymous with summer, the call of geese flying over during migrations, and the screaming calls of Swifts intrinsically linked to the summer months. Now, it would seem, these songs and calls may also provide us with even more information about the otherwise hidden lives of many birds.

It’s also good to hear some positive news about the use of AI, a technology that should be here to make life easier for us and not be a threat to anyone, an aspect of it that is all too often evident. Personally, I don’t want to see AI take over every aspect of our lives, but I do think there are many ways in which it can provide us with information that will help us, and maybe even help wildlife.

© Phil Pickin