Tracks the bird calls in my back yard. I love looking at the daily activity
every night when I'm going to bed to see who's been active. Fun to see the
Juncos show a couple of weeks ago. Have to check the Terra out though too.
On Mon, Nov 4, 2024 at 6:50 PM R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
> 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
> > >
> >
>
>
> --
> Ruth Stewart
> E. Dorset VT
>
