Date: 11/4/24 3:50 pm From: R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Terra Tracking stations
Sales of the Terra (or pickups for those who had pre-ordered) were just
happening at the festival in Oct. I hope those of you who pre-ordered have
gotten yours. I would definitely call the company to check. Thank you,
Lewis, for your first hand input. I know this system is still in its
'infancy', but it's exciting, and a long way to go.... remember when the
Internet started?!!
On Mon, Nov 4, 2024 at 12:50 PM Lewis Grove <zugunlew...> wrote:
> 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
> >
>
