Date: 11/4/24 9:50 am From: Lewis Grove <zugunlew...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Terra Tracking stations
Hi Ruth and all,
I purchased a Terra unit on release day a few weeks back and have been
running it in my yard in Waterbury since then. The automatic ID feature is
roughly equivalent to Merlin; it makes some mistakes, but it also does well
to alert me to potential rarer or less-conspicuous visitors to the yard
that I had not yet noticed. I generally work from home and have enjoyed
piping the audio through my speakers or headphones to listen to my yard
during the day. My understanding is that Terra's plan is to eventually
incorporate Benjamin Van Doren's automated Nighthawk algorithm too, for
automated nocturnal flight call ID (no more sorting through detections!).
The units are also built with stereo mics so they can roughly
identify individuals spatially; the long-term dream is to be able to
conduct simultaneous, robust point counts across huge geographic areas, all
at the push of a button.
As noted, the units also include the ability to detect organisms carrying
certain kinds of transmitter tags, meaning that you can significantly
contribute to wildlife research by adding a backyard Terra. These generally
work on the Motus network (https://motus.org/); even just the pre-orders
for Terras are expected to have roughly doubled the size of the Motus
network in the US overnight! You can also buy stronger antennas which
expand the range of detection for tags. The Motus network has
revolutionized the study of migratory birds; the audio features of Terra
are fantastic, but I'm most excited that I can contribute to high-level,
globally important bird conservation datasets from my own backyard.
One slight caveat is that Terra is an offshoot of Cellular Tracking
Technology (CTT), so the units only work with CTT tags (though this is an
awful lot of the tags out there). As noted, CTT's tags have even recently
been deployed on monarch butterflies (the tags are about 0.050 grams!).
Project Monarch is still in its infancy (
https://www.capemaypointsciencecenter.org/project-monarch), but eventually
the tags and Terras could help us unlock longtime mysteries around insect
and bat migrations.
In short, if it was not clear, I can't recommend Terras enough! (As this is
a glowing review of a commercial product on a listserv, I will just also
say that I have no financial stake in the company whatsoever.)
Good birding,
Lewis Grove
Waterbury
On Sat, Nov 2, 2024 at 2:36 PM R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
> Do you know about this tracking technology?
>
> When attending the recent Cape May Birding Festival, we were introduced to
> the product of a local Cape May company, the Terra (sound) tracking
> system. It has the ability to recognize sounds going over/near its
> location... birds, animals, insects... and even tagged butterflies using
> radio transmissions. The database of sounds is their own collection, not
> those at McCaulay Lib at Cornell.
> The AI programming has the ability to record and archive an unfamiliar
> sound and wait for more of the same sound and ID it later.
>
> Here's a link to the work that is going on in this company. The terra
> stations are being sold through NJ Audubon. At the Festival, I was told
> there are 3-5 'listeners' in VT. (Not me, yet). Know what's happening in
> the skies without freezing or roasting or being attached by insects.... 😊
>
> https://www.terralistens.com/ >
> https://featheredgeoptics.org/terra-station/ >
>
> --
> Ruth Stewart
> E. Dorset VT
>
