The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Biology Department is working to create numerous ways in which the public can indirectly interact with local wildlife.  First, in spring 2024, the department initiated the UW-W Nature Camera project at an undisclosed location near Whitewater in the Kettle Moraine State Forest.  The camera, which emulates a similar set up originally deployed by researchers in Cornell University’s bird lab, allows anyone to tune in here and see the local birds and mammals using the area in real-time 24/7.

More recently, and with the help of tech-savvy research student Noah Sundby, the Biology Department started live recording and documenting of wildlife sounds at the same location as the nature camera.  This project involves a microphone and special software that picks up all audible species within the general vicinity and identifies them.  As such, it detects species that might not be visible on the camera. The dashboard to view these data is here:

https://uwwbird.com/ui/dashboard

The dashboard also summarizes the number of times various species have been detected and any of the individual species can be clicked on and you can listen to the sound clip that the microphone recorded.  Scrolling down also allows anyone to see which species are currently calling in real time.  Further, it’s possible to go back to earlier dates and listen to birds previously detected.  In addition, anyone interested in other information can click the links on the left-hand side of the dashboard page to see summaries of activity patterns, trends, and biodiversity.

Note that the audio recordings are a work in progress, and the microphone software sometimes identifies species that are unlikely to be present. This is currently true for amphibian detections, for example, while the software is much better at identifying birds.

For questions, please contact Dr. Susan DeVries (devriesm@uww.edu), Dr. Josh Kapfer (kapferj@uww.edu), or Dr. Kerry Katovich (katovick@uww.edu).

Editor’s Note: The above was provided by Dr. Josh Kapfer of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.