I recently had the opportunity to attend the official launch of the UK’s National Seagrass Nursery, held by the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) as part of its Blue Meadows project. Based on the River Dart, in Devon, the National Seagrass Nursery spans 400 square metres, making it the largest of its kind in the UK. This exciting launch event brought together a variety of national and local stakeholders, all with a vested interest in safeguarding and restoring our seagrass meadows.
Seagrass plays a vital role in marine ecosystems, with a single hectare capable of supporting 80,000 fish and 100 million small invertebrates. These marine meadows are also important carbon stores, absorbing carbon up to 35 times more efficiently than tropical rainforests. Unfortunately, since the 1930s the UK has lost around 90% of its seagrass beds, with the decline driven by a combination of disturbance, disease and pollution.
The OCT’s Blue Meadows project is working to combat this decline, aiming to protect 10% of all UK seagrass meadows and restore 50ha of seagrass over the next decade. The National Seagrass Nursery is a key component of realising these ambitions, and I was lucky enough to enjoy a guided tour of the facility.
In recent years, the OCT has developed a two-pronged approach to subtidal seagrass restoration, using hydro marine seeding and seagrass mat technology in combination. Reflecting this dual approach, the nursery is divided into two sections. One side of the facility is dedicated to processing seagrass seeds that have been harvested from donor sites along the coast of the South West. These seeds are stored in large tanks and, over time, the organic matter that holds them against the flowering stem rots away, allowing the seeds to sink to the bottom. Some of these seeds will be planted directly into the seabed using the HMS OCToPUS, an innovative injection device reminiscent of a large caulking gun. Others will be taken to the other side of the nursery and planted into sand on hessian mats. These mats are then placed into shallow tanks of fresh seawater, which is pumped in from the nearby estuary. Here, they will grow into plantlets, and after 4–6 months they will be ready for planting into the seabed. The mats are then taken to the chosen restoration site and carefully pegged in place by divers.
Despite the innovative facilities and technology on display at this event, what I was most impressed by was the knowledge and dedication of the team. OCT and its supporters have worked incredibly hard and have already seen some early success with 208ha of seagrass currently protected and 3ha restored. The launch of the National Seagrass Nursery represents an exciting step in UK seagrass restoration, and I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this initiative. You can learn more about the Blue Meadows project here.
As part of our ongoing commitment to support wildlife and conservation, all NHBS staff members can apply for up to three days of paid time during each calendar year to spend on conservation projects of their choice. One of our Technical Advisors, Laura, recently spent a week working at RSPB Ynys Lawd / South Stack, in Anglesey. You can read all about her experience below:
Early in 2025, I applied to be a residential volunteer at RSPB Ynys Lawd / South Stack, Anglesey. I was lucky enough to be accepted and spent an incredible week, in early August, on the reserve.
RSPB Ynys Lawd / South Stack is an incredible reserve with swathes of heathland and farmland covering the rugged hills, eventually giving way to rocky sea cliffs. During springtime, large seabird colonies, including Razorbills, Guillemots, Puffins, Fulmars and Kittiwakes, nest in the cliffsides. Choughs and Ravens also call the reserve home, often dancing on the strong sea winds. All three types of Heather can be found there alongside Gorse and the South Stack Fleawort, thought to be endemic to the reserve. Cetaceans journey through the adjoining Irish Sea, with the most common visitors being Risso’s Dolphins, Common Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises.
I participated in the National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2025, run by the Sea Watch Foundation. This nine day citizen science event collects data on the distribution of whales, dolphins and porpoises around the UK. From the iconic Ellin’s Tower, we watched the seascape for an hour and noted any cetaceans that came past. The most memorable sighting was a pod of five Risso’s Dolphins with a calf! These distinctive dolphins are among the largest dolphin species, with some adult males growing up to 3.8 m long. Mature Risso’s Dolphins have unique bodily scarring patterns or ‘rake marks’, caused by members of their own species during social interactions, making them easier to individually identify. They’re also amazing acrobats, as we observed when we were lucky enough to spot a lone male doing backflips in the water! If you want to learn more about these enigmatic creatures, you can read our latest issue of British Wildlife.
Douglas Croft: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries on Flickr
A lot of my time was spent engaging with visitors and discussing the array of wildlife that inhabits the reserve. From Ellin’s Tower, alongside cetaceans, I observed Grey Seals and seabirds. By August, most of the nesting seabirds had already left, however, the cliffs were by no means deserted. Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls, and Greater Black-backed Gulls were still populating the rocks. Gannets sailed past in the mornings, diving and emerging triumphantly with beaks full of fish. My personal favourite sighting was a juvenile Peregrine Falcon which swooped past the cliffs, honing its hunting skills with impressive dives and turns. Choughs are year-round residents, often announcing their presence with their distinctive “Chee-ow” call and playing in the strong sea winds.
Other days were taken up by roaming the reserve and ensuring it remained clean and free of litter. Handily, they had one of our old-style pond nets, which made it easy to ensure that the wildlife pond was kept free of rubbish.
All in all, I had a wonderful week, thanks in part to the beautiful surroundings and wildlife but also to the lovely staff and other volunteers who made me feel so welcome. It’s an experience I would heartily recommend.
Many books have been written about notable names in the world of natural history, with the likes of Darwin and Wallace being the first that come to mind. Digging a little deeper in areas such as ornithology will uncover names that aren’t as well known and yet still made significant contributions to the field. Uncovering almost 30 species of birds that were previously unknown to science, John Henry Gurney was a founding member of the British Ornithologists’ Union in 1859, while focusing on the identification of birds of prey. Large collections of letters written by Gurney to Alfred Newton are held by Norfolk County Council in the Norfolk Archive Centre, and others to his family members are in the Library of the Society of Friends in Euston, London. Now a deeply researched biography about the man, his personal life and his contributions to cataloguing nature is being published by John Beaufoy Publishing.
NHBS managed to bring the co-authors together to answer a few questions about the book and uncovering the history of a man seemingly forgotten by the world of ornithology.
Clive Slater, Peter Mundy and Ray Williams
How did you first come across John Henry Gurney, and why did you decide to write this biography?
As co-authors of this biography, we (Clive Slater, Peter Mundy and Ray Williams) have combined our three quite different perspectives of John Henry Gurney. Almost 50 years ago, Ray commenced research on a bio-bibliography of the Victorian publisher John Van Voorst (1804-1898) and has published many accounts of the books that Van Voorst produced. One of them, in 2008, concerned Gurney’s Descriptive Catalogue of the Raptorial Birds in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum – Part I. Discovering that Gurney was occupied from 1857 to 1864 in producing Part I but that he never completed the project prompted the obvious question of “why?” Further investigations revealed his misfortunes of the 1860s, including his wife’s elopement, an inevitable divorce, and his entanglement in the notorious financial crash of Overend & Gurney for which the directors were tried for fraud (but acquitted).
When Peter was studying vulture specimens in the bird collection at the Natural History Museum at Tring for his PhD, he noticed some with Norwich Castle Museum labels. Then, much later, having bought a copy of Gurney’s 1884 account of raptors in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, he realised what a huge collection it must have once been. He asked Clive, his ornithologist friend from university days in the 1960s and now a Norwich resident, to investigate. Apparently, none of the original specimens were present, which sparked their quest to discover more about Gurney and the fate of his remarkable collection. Since so little of his work seemed to have been remembered, Peter and Clive decided that it deserved wider recognition and so set about writing a biography. Since Ray’s 2008 paper on Gurney’s Descriptive Catalogue of the Raptorial Birds had come to Clive’s attention, contact was made, and thus came about our decision to join forces, Clive and Peter contributing as ornithologists, and Ray as a historian and bibliographer.
For those unfamiliar with Gurney, could you briefly tell us a bit about him and his work?
Gurney was born in 1819 and raised among the famous Norfolk family of wealthy Quaker bankers, also well known as philanthropists or promulgators of the Quaker faith, not only in Britain, but also in America. After education at a Quaker school, he entered the family bank in Norwich. He had started collecting bird specimens from an early age and this interest developed into journal publications. From 1853, he made collecting and writing about raptors his speciality. Simultaneously, he was receiving and publishing on bird specimens supplied by collectors in southern Africa. These two threads dominated his life’s ornithological work. However, John Henry fell for a cousin, Mary Jary Gurney who was an Anglican, and he was therefore, upon his marriage to her, disowned by his co-religionists, as was the current Quaker convention.
Nevertheless, he did not abandon the principles of his upbringing and was assiduous in his commitments to his banking career, his public service as an MP and JP and his philanthropy. Though his additional personal ornithological research resulted in a constant and considerable workload, what is truly astonishing is his determination and strength of mind in continuing his bird work throughout a series of tragic misfortunes during the 1860s. His research procedures were constant throughout his life, meticulously documenting external morphology of as many specimens as possible, while accurately recording geographical distributions. He was not a theorist, however, and dealt only in facts as he recorded them. Although best known for his studies of the world’s birds of prey, Gurney’s wide zoological interests also embraced the birds, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and marine invertebrates of his home county of Norfolk, which he supplemented with fascinating accounts of historical manuscripts.
What were the greatest challenges you faced when writing this biography?
The research itself was, of course, naturally difficult and time consuming, involving numerous visits to libraries, archives and museums by all of us. The access to archival material in private and public collections of books and specimens in the UK and southern Africa was challenging and required much logistic planning. Covid lockdowns hampered access to libraries and museum collections. On several occasions when reviewing progress, we found that the vast amount of information gleaned had to be severely edited in order to keep below the agreed word limit.
A significant challenge, therefore, was not any difficulty in finding enough information, but was how to select the most important facts and to present them in the most succinct fashion. Moreover, information had to be continually assessed and corroborated, which additionally involved the interpretation and explanation of events, extending in the end to nine years since we decided in 2016 to combine resources. However, the major issue was Peter’s deteriorating health, leading to his death in February 2023. Nevertheless, his determination to continue contributing to our work despite his serious illness was inspirational and we vowed to finish the book as a testament to his courage (the book is also dedicated to him).
This book covers the intriguing twists and turns of Gurney’s life in impressive detail. Were there any discoveries that surprised you when researching this book?
Much taxonomic information was encountered, though that is practically certain to arise in any biography of a Victorian naturalist. It is significant, however, how deeply respected he was in the ornithological circles of his day – many others across the world would often seek his help and advice in their studies. But perhaps the most surprising revelations concern Gurney’s private life and how he miraculously managed to continue his ornithological research in the face of so much adversity and personal tragedy, all of which became intertwined with other misfortunes of his wider Norfolk family. These discoveries provided the answers that Ray sought to explain the slow progress of the Descriptive Catalogue of the Raptorial Birds and the failure to complete it. Whilst the Overend & Gurney affair has been known about for some years, we were able to add some more detail. Most startling of all was the story of Gurney’s wife’s elopement and its tragic impact not only on his own life, but his whole family, and British and American Quakers in general.
The American newspaper press was gleeful in their cruel and unjustifiable use of the unfortunate event for their own political purposes. Gurney must have been deeply embarrassed by the public exposure of these events, hence his self-exile from Norfolk for five years. However, the care he bestowed on his sickly younger son was exemplary and his ability to continue his bird studies whilst living out of a suitcase for years was quite extraordinary. Equally impressive was his memory of details of his specimens at that time, even when he could not access them. He apparently never saw his recalcitrant wife again, but as it happened, she possessed huge financial resources of her own and thus Mary Jary and her lover were ultimately able, after their marriage, to re-establish themselves in society with very little trouble. However, their family also was to be visited again by tragedy when Mary died of cancer, aged 43, and their daughter died of a brain disease, aged 31.
I was surprised to learn that although Gurney donated 1,300 foreign bird specimens to the Lynn Museum, sadly, none of them remain. What specimens would you have been most interested in seeing?
Of course, all the specimens were valuable historically but most exciting would have been a view of the collection from Alfred Russel Wallace’s travels in the Malay Archipelago, as these would have been special and we do not even know what they were! Also intriguing would have been sight of the central displays of birds of paradise and hummingbirds that must have been striking but we have no idea what they looked like.
There are currently seven recognised bird species named in Gurney’s honour. Do you have a personal favourite?
Yes, a great favourite of Clive’s is Gurney’s Eagle, Aquila gurneyi 1860. More than 160 years after George Robert Gray honoured Gurney with its name we still know very little about the biology of this species – nobody has reported even finding a nest! An attempt to see it in Halmahera in 2017 was frustrating for the only fleeting, distant views. For such a large, imposing eagle to be so elusive and little known is quite remarkable.
Despite his vast contributions, including describing 29 birds, 21 of which are still recognised today, John Henry Gurney seems to be somewhat forgotten by modern ornithology. Why do you think this is?
Since Victorian times, momentous scientific advances have been made and the world’s environment is rapidly changing beyond all recognition. In the biosciences, there has been for a century or more an increasing trend for research to become focused on ecology, biodiversity, migration, physiology, biochemistry, genetics and climatology, all of which are now crucial for understanding and combatting the threats of global warming and habitat destruction. Whilst taxonomy must underpin these trends, so that biologists are able to confidently identify whole organisms of animals and plants of importance, the emphasis on taxonomy per se has shifted from the Victorian obsession with finding and naming new species for its own sake. Thus, Gurney is only one of many hundreds of naturalists of his period now unknown to modern biologists in general.
Even Peter, a modern authority on raptors and southern African birds, was baffled as to why for so long he knew little about Gurney, who published nothing about himself and only one very small booklet aimed at the public to serve as a guide to his raptorial collection. Difficult to trace were his letters and other manuscripts, widely scattered among collections in the Natural History Museum in Tring, the Castle Museum in Norwich, the Barclays Group Archives in Manchester, and the Society of Friends’ Library in London. Perhaps if his planned book of raptor paintings by Joseph Wolf had come to fruition he would have become better known. But it seems strange that most world birders and conservationists are so familiar with his name via the beautiful but near-extinct Gurney’s Pitta.
How would you describe Gurney’s impact on ornithology?
Gurney helped lay the foundations of modern ornithology in Victorian times by supporting the fledgling British Ornithologists’ Union and their journal, Ibis, in which he published his papers on raptors and southern African birds, embellished by Joseph Wolf’s illustrations. By his descriptions of new raptorial species and records of worldwide geographical distribution of many species he contributed crucial information to the difficult study of raptors, still a perplexing group. We should also recognise the lasting value of his specimens to modern scholars and the support that he provided to other ornithologists in his day.
What are you working on next? Do you have any more writing projects lined up?
Clive continues researching the history of the bird collections that were once held at Norwich Castle Museum but were dispersed in the 1950s, at the same time as Gurney’s raptorial collection. Thousands of bird specimens were sold, loaned or given to other institutions. Some of them emanated from important expeditions and notable naturalists, so why were these collections at Norwich in the first place, what went where, and why?
Now that Ray’s work on Gurney is finished, he is returning to his project of the bio-bibliography of John Van Voorst, and after that, a similar study is envisaged of the life of Thomas Alan Stephenson (1898-1961), a sea-anemone taxonomist and expert on marine intertidal zonation, as well as a superb botanical and zoological artist whose beautifully accurate paintings give the impression of being colour photographs.
John Henry Gurney – A Passion for Birds is published by John Beaufoy Publishing in association with the British Ornithologists’ Club, and is available in hardback from NHBS here.
In a first for Europe’s largest conservation charity, the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is bringing the spectacle of the natural world to the big screen. Coming to London’s Troxy on 6th September, ‘A Night of Nature’ will blend cinema with the immediacy of a concert, thanks to live music synched to stunning footage of natural habitats and species, performed by string quartet Vesper and multi-million selling vocal group G4.
Ahead of the event, NHBS colleague Laura had a chat with Emma Marsh, the Executive Director for Digital Technology and Communications for the RSPB. In our interview, Emma shared details about this one-off live event, including its importance, what it represents and what she hopes people will take home and remember long after the concert is over. She also offered insights on her role, as well as the priorities and challenges for the charity.
Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at the RSPB?
I was brought up on a farm in the Midlands (of England, UK) where my dad was a farm worker. I spent my childhood days exploring the fields, hedges and trees. I remember such a sense of freedom and the abundance of nature. That all changed as I grew older. Agricultural practices intensified and I watched the depletion of wildlife in front of me. That feeling of loss stayed with me and has driven my passion for conservation ever since.
My route into a conservation career was definitely not ‘standard’. My parents wanted me to be the first member of our extended family to go to university and a degree in International Relations, including the international politics of the environment, was my next step. I then navigated a route through the public sector, the commercial world in technology and finally landed in charity. I spent ten years in the waste and recycling sector, focusing on delivering behaviour change around food waste, which led to where I wanted and needed to be – in nature conservation and the incredible RSPB.
Emma Marsh
I joined RSPB in early 2016 as the Director for the Midlands, overseeing our network of landscapes, reserves, fundraising and comms, moving to be Director for the whole of England in 2019. In late 2022 I was able to bring together all of the experience I’d gained over the years, from Technology, to campaigning, to conservation, becoming the Executive Director for Digital Technology and Communications, sitting on the Executive Board.
Every day is different. One day I can be immersed in helping my team gear up our technology and media to deliver big events (such as Big Garden Bird Watch), the next pivoting and scaling up our comms and campaigning to unexpected legislative threats to nature, to speaking on the Radio 4 Today programme or R5Live about the incredible successes our teams have had with bringing threatened species like the Crane back from the brink of extinction. Another day I’ll be deeply immersed in developing the RSPBs strategy and reporting impact against it, the next working with Trustees, and when I’m really lucky it will be spent at one of our incredible 200+ nature reserves, seeing the spectacular conservation delivery and engagement that our teams do so well. It’s such a varied, dynamic and interesting role leading and working with some brilliant people – I’m incredibly lucky.
The RSPB has been around since 1889, and over the years it has developed and grown significantly. What would you say are its current priorities for nature, and where do you see the organisation going?
Emily Williamson, Etta Lemon and Eliza Phillips started the RSPB in the late 19th century, and the campaign they ran to ban the plumage trade (which was putting 60 bird species at risk of extinction) took three decades before it bore fruition. The tenacity and determination they demonstrated, when societal norms were stacked against them, was inspirational. When they started their campaign, women didn’t even have the vote, but they were convinced they could put an end to the trade, and they did. For me this determination and tenacity runs through the RSPB to this day. They used every tool at their disposal, just as we do today, campaigning with the public to drive awareness and support, engaging with politicians to drive legislative change and using science to gain credibility.
Our world-leading research allows us to take a bird’s eye view of the overarching problems facing nature and then pinpoint solutions that make a real difference. The world around us and the threats to birds and wildlife has changed significantly since the RSPB was created and so we have had to constantly evolve and change. Today we’re the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, with nearly 1.2 million members. We manage more than 200 nature reserves across all four countries of the UK, covering an area the size of 250,000 football pitches, making us the UK’s 5th largest landowner. Across those landscapes over 18,700 different species have been recorded. 85% of our workforce are volunteers, spending 1 million hours acting for nature every year. And we now have over 130 local groups spread right across the UK, connecting people and progressing conservation projects. We want to grow the number of people engaging with us as members, supporters, donors, volunteers, all taking action so that we can achieve a shared world where wildlife, wild places and all people thrive together. To do that we need to protect and restore habitats and landscapes, save species, help end the nature crisis, and inspire others to do the same. That’s a big ask but if anyone can do it, we can.
In particular in the UK our priorities are around demonstrating the art of the possible in terms of conservation on our nature reserves, and influencing nature-positive management at scale through partnerships in our Priority Landscapes; Internationally working with and through the BirdLife International partnership to deliver significant positive conservation impacts around the world; working to reduce the harmful impacts of selected fisheries around the world and marine development in the UK; getting the most important places protected through strengthened policy, and tackling threats to priority species; working tirelessly to secure the future of threatened species; working in partnership with the farming community across the UK, providing evidence-based advice to farmers, Governments and businesses, demonstrating good practice and developing and promoting policy frameworks that would enable a fair transition to nature-friendly farming; advocating for new income streams for nature so more can be invested in species and habitat recovery; and continuing to engage and empower more, and more diverse, people to take meaningful action alongside us to achieve all this. Ultimately, just like back in 1889, we think and act big. We deliver conservation you can see from space.
The Night of Nature concert seems like a new and exciting direction for RSPB engagement events. What inspired you to branch out?
Whilst Night of Nature is a bit of a first of its kind event for the RSPB, we nonetheless have a rich history of collaborating with voices from across the arts in order to bring nature to ever wider audiences. Back in 2022 we worked with international choreographer Sadeck Waff and agency 89up to create a ‘human murmuration’– a choreographed performance inspired by the stunning display birds put on as they flock together in a dance-like movement, emphasising the importance of working together to create impact. The murmuration was shown at COP15 where the Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed at the 11th hour. One of our current conservation milestones is the 50th anniversary of the re-introduction of White-tailed Eagles to the UK. To celebrate this achievement, we’ve partnered with acclaimed musician and sound artist Alice Boyd, who has just released a new track ‘Return of the White-Tailed Eagle’ (now streaming here) in tribute to the species. Alice also features – alongside RSPB ambassadors Dave Sexton and Nadeem Perera – in a forthcoming RSPB short film, ‘Return’, which documents the decades of conservation work by RSPB and our partners to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. ‘Return’ will release on August 29, with the trailer now streaming here.
We know just how important the voices of the creative community are to articulating the stories that drive our conservation work, and we’re thrilled to develop this relationship even further with Night of Nature.
Can you tell us a bit about the concert and what people can look forward to?
Night of Nature will blend live music with a cinematic celebration of nature. Stunning footage of the incredible species and habitats that we’re working to safeguard will be showcased on the Troxy’s big screen, synched to performances from #1-charting vocal group G4 and the Vesper string quartet. The evening will be hosted by RSPB Ambassador, actor/director Samuel West.
Think of this as a red-carpet experience—without the red-carpet price tag. With tickets starting at just £28, guests can enjoy an unforgettable show, mingle with our team, and even pose for a photo on the red carpet. It’s excitement, and entertainment—all within reach.
You have some exciting names attached to this event, how did they come to be involved?
G4 was a natural choice for Night of Nature. With their stunning harmonies and emotive performances, they bring a powerful sense of atmosphere to every stage they grace. But beyond the music, what really drew us to G4 was their genuine appreciation for the natural world. That really matters to us.
As a group that tours extensively across the UK and Ireland, G4 have had the chance to experience some of the country’s most breathtaking landscapes—from the dramatic coastlines of Scotland to the peaceful beaches of Devon, the wild beauty of Ireland, and the rolling hills of Yorkshire. Along the way, they make a point of pausing to soak in the scenery and observe the wildlife around them—often sharing these moments and photos with their fans on social media. It’s a window into the quieter, more reflective side of life on tour, and a reminder of how closely nature and creativity are intertwined.
With families of their own, the band feel a deepening responsibility to protect these places—not just for today, but for the generations that follow. When invited to take part in Night of Nature, they were immediately drawn to the idea of using music to celebrate the beauty of our world and support the vital work of the RSPB. For G4, this event is more than a performance—it’s a chance to help inspire others to cherish and protect the natural world.
Samuel West is an actor (currently playing Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small on Channel 5) and director, and a keen birder for nearly twenty years. Speaking about his connection to RSPB and its work, Samuel says; “Until birds get their act together and organise their own pressure groups, I suppose we’ll just have to do it for them. With nature under unprecedented attack, the RSPB shows those in power what a huge and vocal nature lobby can do to change things. Our two young daughters love nature, and watching birds in particular. But the world they’ll inherit is in trouble. Half of all bird species worldwide are in decline. Biodiversity isn’t just a nice thing to have, it’s essential for the survival of humanity and the planet.”
Accessibility and connection to nature appear to be key inspirations for this event. What are you hoping to achieve with the Night of Nature concert?
In essence, Night of Nature is our way of saying a very heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all our members and supporters for their backing, without which we wouldn’t be able to deliver the vital work needed to protect and maintain the stunning array of species and habitats you’ll experience up on the Troxy’s big screen.
But we also know that we need more people to join us in taking action for nature. So we hope this also inspires even more people to come along and be a part of something bigger. Whatever you do – big or small – matters. It all joins up to create real and lasting change. Furthermore, research also demonstrates that connection to nature is in turn good for our own mental & physical well-being. Good for people and good for nature.
It’s our hope that Night of Nature galvanises even more of us to join the fight against biodiversity loss and work to tackle the climate crisis, as we strive towards a shared world, where wildlife, wild places and people all thrive alongside each other.
Chirpity is an easy-to-use, accessible app developed to aid the successful identification of bird calls within acoustic recordings. It is the ideal software solution for anyone interested in identifying bird vocalizations, whether you’re a dedicated Nocmig enthusiast or a professional bioacoustic researcher, and streamlines the often tedious process of reviewing audio recordings to quickly and accurately detect avian sounds. It features an array of intuitive features to assist with identification, including call review, tagging and background analysis.
We recently had the opportunity to speak to founder Matthew Kirkland about the software, including how he became interested in both nature and apps, why he developed Chirpity, its uses, capabilities and more.
Firstly, could you tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in both the natural world, and app development?
I got the nature bug as a kid from my grandparents. I would spend the summer holidays in Northumberland with them and they were both outdoorsy types. We’d visit nature reserves where my grandad would point out the birds, and my nan would know the flowers – and often have a story about their names and medicinal uses, plants like speedwell and eyebright. Nonetheless, it was the birds that really ignited my passion. I think I thought I was better at bird ID than I really was, because looking back at my childhood field notes, I recorded some pretty outlandish sightings!
Now I’m a little bit more grown up andI would say I’ve become quite adept at identifying birds by sight, or ‘jizz’ (general impression, size and shape). However, one area that still befuddles me is bird song. My grandad was deaf – he piloted catalinas (flying boats) in WWII and the engine noise affected his hearing ever after. He couldn’t put me on to bird song or calls as a way to find the species around you, and I never learned the calls. Not deterred by this, after reading an account of a local birder’s Nocmig records (calls made by flying nocturnal migrants) on our local WhatsApp group, I decided to plug a cheap mic into my iPhone, and leave it recording out of my bedroom window overnight one April evening – just to see what it might pick up.
The next day, I downloaded the file onto my PC and opened it up in the sound software Audacity. This allows you to view a spectrogram of the audio, and with this view, you can scroll through the night’s recording to see the sounds. Bird calls show up as specific shapes in this view: they have a signature squiggle. After perhaps an hour of scrolling I came across something that looked like this:
What was it? I had no idea! So I sent a clip of the sound to the WhatsApp group. The county Bird recorder came back with the message ‘It’s a Whimbrel’. Well, that had me hooked! I live in suburban Luton, 50 miles from the sea at least, so having a Whimbrel over the house was astonishing.
What followed over the next weeks and months was a series of ‘What’s this?’ submissions to the newly created county Nocmig group on WhatsApp.
All the while, I was thinking there had to be a better way to sift through hours of audio. I had a computer background of sorts: I’d worked for BBC Online as a web developer many years ago. I had also completed a Masters’ degree in cognitive science back at uni and retained an interest in artificial intelligence ever since. In part because of this, I’d heard of BirdNET – which is AI software trained to recognise bird vocalisations. It comes from the same group at Cornell University that do the Merlin App. I got this to work on my audio files with reasonable results: I could open a terminal on my computer and type a command for BirdNET that would scan the file and spit out a list of bird detections at specified times in the audio. I could then go back to Audacity and see whether the predictions were correct. When they were, it was amazing, but all too often they weren’t.
For those unfamiliar with Chirpity, can you give an overview of its purpose, uses and capabilities, and explain what you were hoping to achieve in developing this application?
Well, to be honest, my initial experience with BirdNET for Nocmig was somewhat tedious. Chirpity is the result of an effort to make Nocmig simple and enjoyable – even for people who couldn’t tell if they heard a Moorhen or a motorbike!
The application lets you drop your audio recordings into it, you hit ‘Analyse’ and it scans for birds. Whenever it finds a call or song, you’ll see the result appear in a table and you can click on it, play the clip or edit the record.
Since AI Bird ID isn’t perfect by any means, there are dubious identifications. Chirpity manages this in three ways:
You can restrict the reported species to those likely at your location, either by using an automatically generated ‘Local Birds’ list or a ‘Custom’ list with only the species you have selected.
You can compare the predicted species with examples that have been uploaded and vetted by experts on the Xeno-Canto website.
It’s also really easy and quick to delete, correct or annotate results before you save them to your personal archive – a database of records you can revisit, view and replay.
There is an option to view charts of the species you’ve recorded, so you can see when the peak passage is in the year and when to be on the lookout for Redwings, Common Scoters, Tree Pipits –species which are regular night migrants over most of the country. Here’s an example showing my Redwing records in 2022:
I’ve been lucky enough to pick up Stone-curlew too on several occasions, with this astonishing record being the best of them:
Stone curlew spectrogram, audio below.
As you can see, with Chirpity you can adapt the visualisation and export clips from your recordings.
However, Chirpity isn’t just for Nocmig – many of its users are recording in the field with remote field recorders, like Song Meters you sell. With external power, some of these recorders can be rigged to run 24/7 for periods of up to a month before their audio is retrieved from the SD card. These researchers use Chirpity to review the audio, check the results and export their findings either as a spreadsheet or in an eBird Record format.
It really stood out to me that Chirpity is incredibly accessible in comparison to its desktop counterparts. Was accessibility a key driver for you?
Absolutely! There are two key thoughts I have in mind when thinking about Chirpity’s development:
What’s the best way to make this feature easy to understand and use?
Is there a way it can be delightful?
All the settings have a help icon next to them so you can read what they do, and there are lots of keyboard shortcuts to speed things up once you get used to the application. And for non-English speakers, the interface can be displayed in any one of 11 different languages!
What challenges did you face when developing this application, and how did you overcome these?
Well, one thing I have learned is that software isn’t soft, it’s hard! There are so many challenges I’ve had to overcome, it’s difficult to know where to start. For its users, the one I am most pleased to have resolved is getting an insight into how people actually use the application, where they struggle and what doesn’t work. Most of Chirpity’s users aren’t technical people, they won’t report a bug – they just think they messed up. I now have a system that shows me, anonymously, what people do with the application, if it has errors and if so, what someone did to cause it. That means I can fix it! Another challenge has been managing updates. The application is available for Windows, Mac and Linux computers, so I was very pleased to find a solution that packages each version, tests it and alerts users to the update automatically. Finally, training a call recognition model that has good results in real world use – like the Nocmig model included with Chirpity – is really hard. It took me about a year to make it effective – I had to learn the AI platform from scratch but even so, most of the time was spent preparing the 500,000 or so examples in the training data!
Given your active presence in both bird and software forums and your engagement with users, could you share which Chirpity project has been the most personally rewarding for you?
Well, I’m really quite proud of the fact that the County bird recorder that identified that Whimbrel at the start of this journey now uses Chirpity for his own Nocmig analysis! I’m also amazed that it’s taken off so widely on the international stage. I have a map of Chirpity user’s locations, it amazes me that it’s got this much traction when it’s been less than a year since I put the first version out to the public (and I don’t do any paid advertising):
Technology is constantly being updated and improved – what future developments can we expect for Chirpity?
There isn’t what you might call a roadmap for new features – things move and change too quickly. I will keep to the vision – simple and delightful to use. The folks at Cornell (the BirdNET people) are teasing a big update for this year, and we’re in touch over ensuring that update will work with Chirpity when it lands.
I’d like to add a self-learning element to the application, so it remembers and adapts to corrections – though this is a challenge that is yet to be overcome!
I’ve recently added a “Buy Me a Coffee” link for donations. With sufficient funding, I’ll be able to pay for a digital signature, which will clear the hurdles when installing unsigned software and allow automatic updates for Mac users. That funding will also help me cover the cost of training better Nocmig models and well, drink more coffee, right?
Are you working on any other projects that we can hear about?
Honestly – this is plenty to be getting on with! Although, I’d quite like a version of Chirpity that works like ChatGPT – where you give it a file and can say “What birds are in this? How do you know? Let me listen to the Stone-curlew you found…That’s great! Send it to my socials”
The second-generation Song Meter Mini 2 and Micro 2 are the latest additions to the Wildlife Acoustics acoustic recorder range, with the Song Meter Mini 2 available in both AA and Li-Ion powered versions.
I was eager to test the new Li-Ion version of the Song Meter Mini 2, which I set up alongside the Song Meter Micro 2 in early December. The aim of this deployment was to compare the performance of the two models, and as a self-described ‘bird nerd’, I was also very excited to capture recordings of the incredible birdlife that resides on Dartmoor.
Deployment
The Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion model holds six rechargeable 18650 lithium-ion batteries with a minimum of one required for deployment. In this case, I used four batteries in both devices which provided ample runtime for this short field test, and I inserted a 32GB SDHC card – unfortunately, I did not have access to a battery charger so the Song Meter Mini 2 began the deployment at 57% battery life. I set up the recorders in a rural Dartmoor village hoping for clear recordings.
Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion (left) and Song Meter Micro 2 (right) set up with batteries and SD cards.
One of the main strengths of Wildlife Acoustic’s recorders is theirsimple deployment and configuration using the free Song Meter app. Here you can select your preferred recording schedule and check the status of your recorder at any time while in Bluetooth range –this provides information on SDHC card capacity, battery life, recording mode, and number of recordings taken. For this deployment, I used a pre-set recording schedule to record birds for two hours around sunrise and sunset.
Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion (left) and Micro 2 (right) status before deployment.
Both models now feature cable lock holes so that they can be safely secured during deployment – using a Python Lock, I fixed the device to a tree and left it torecord for two days.
Results
Over 2 days, I had collected 33 recordings on each device. Both devices had ample battery life remaining and had used just 1.75GB of storage.
Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion (left) and Micro 2 (right) status after deployment.
I analysed the recordings with a fantastic free desktop software called Chirpity. Using the BirdNET model, this software has an auto ID feature which simplifies analysis of sound recordings, particularly for large data sets. Using this software, I was able to identify a wide variety of garden bird calls including Robins, Blue Tits, Tawny Owls and many more. Examples of the dawn chorus from each device can be heard below.
Dawn chorus recording on Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion.
Dawn chorus recording on Song Meter Micro 2.
Spectrogram analysis of dawn chorus in Chirpity
Product Comparison
Both devices are impressive recorders in their own right – they produced clear and extensive recordings that captured a fantastic snapshot of the surrounding soundscape. On paper, the most obvious difference between these two recorders is the price, with the Micro 2 being much more affordable than the Mini 2-Li-Ion (@less than 1/3 of the price).
Furthermore, the Micro 2 is around half the size of the Mini 2-Li-Ion, its compact design is hard not to be impressed by, and it can fit easily into a pocket. Despite its small size, the Micro 2 features an incredible sample rate of 256kHz which allows you to capture good-quality high frequency recordings.
However, what you gain in compactness you lose in battery life. The Micro 2 has an estimated runtime of 280 hours compared to the Mini 2-Li-Ion which has a whopping 1,330-hour run time. The Micro 2 was deployed with a fully charged battery and finished with 76% battery life. Comparatively, the Mini 2-Li-Ion started and finished at 57%, an impressive feat.
Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion (left) and Micro 2 (right)
Another key difference between these recorders lies within environmental noise. These devices were deployed in the run-up to Storm Darragh, and some of the recordings experienced a good deal of wind distortion. Although this is an extreme case, it served to highlight the difference a windshield makes. The Micro 2 has no windshield over the microphone and as a result, experienced markedly more distortion when compared to the shielded Mini 2-Li-Ion. This can be seen in the spectrograms below, which were taken simultaneously. The Mini 2-Li-Ion also has the advantage of a low-noise microphone which, to my ear, produces slightly clearer recordings compared to the Micro 2.
Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion (left) and Micro 2 (right) wind distortionComparison table of Song Meter Mini 2 Li-Ion (left) and Micro 2 (right)
Summary
While both recorders allow you to experience the surrounding soundscape in new ways, they each offer distinct functionalities to achieve this goal.
The compact design of the Song Meter Micro 2, along with a recent price drop, makes this recorder a fantastic choice for enthusiasts who want to delve into bioacoustics. It has an excellent sample rate, good battery life and produces crisp recordings that are a joy to listen back to.
In comparison, the Song Meter Mini 2-Li-Ion is perfect for researchers. Its improved battery life makes it an excellent choice for both short and long-term deployments, and the low-noise microphone and windshield are ideal at producing clear recordings for subsequent analysis.
The second-generation Song Meter Mini Bat 2 is one of Wildlife Acoustics’ latest additions to the Song Meter range. This recorder offers improved battery life and weatherproofing, thanks to the new hinged enclosure. Learn more about the improvements and differences in this newer model here. Wildlife Acoustics have now gone one step further offering both AA and Lithium-Ion battery models of the Mini Bat 2. The Lithium-ion model holds 6 rechargeable 18650 lithium-ion batteries giving it 2.5 times more battery life compared to the AA model.
I took the Mini Bat 2 recorder and set it up for a week in June. As I was only recording for a week, the AA model was more than fit for purpose. I had two aims in mind; firstly, I wanted to see for myself how to deploy and use this newer model, and possibly more importantly, I wanted to discover which bats were living just outside the NHBS office.
Deployment
I set up the device using a 64 GB SDXC card and eight lithium AA batteries (other AA batteries are compatible but may offer shorter battery life). I chose to set up the recorder outside of our office on a nearby tree situated alongside the River Dart. I hoped that the presence of insects along the river would encourage bats to fly close to the recorder. However, I did experience some issues with this location which I will discuss later.
Recorder set up with batteries and SD card.
Like its predecessor, the Mini Bat 2 is configured using the free Song Meter app. Here you can select your preferred recording schedule and check the recorder’s status. Whilst in Bluetooth range, you can determine the currentstatus of the recorder, including SD card capacity, battery life, recording mode and number of recordings taken. I used a pre-set recording schedule to record bats from sunset to sunrise (subject to triggering).
Recorder status before deployment.
This model now helpfully features cable lock holes so that the unit can be secured – using a Python Lock I fixed the device to the tree and left it for a week to collect recordings.
What I found
By the end of the week, I had collected over 700 recordings. Despite this, very little battery life had drained and only 3 GB of storage had been used.
Recorder status after deployment.
I then removed the SD card and loaded the recordings into Kaleidoscope Pro. Unfortunately, I noticed a consistent disturbance present in all the recordings at around 20 – 30kHz. It was then I learned that the office has a ventilation fan, which unbeknownst to me, runs constantly (even at 3 am!). Not a bad reminder that when choosing your recording location to be aware of any possible noise disturbances.
Thankfully, this disturbance did not hamper my ability to analyse the recordings. Helpfully, Kaleidoscope Pro has an auto ID feature which allowed me to categorise the recordings by species. This feature compares each call pulse with reference libraries and generates a confidence interval from 0-1 called a “Match Ratio”. The more commonality a pulse shares with the reference data the higher the match ratio. I was delighted to discover that Kaleidoscope identified five different species just outside our office! My personal favourite being the Greater Horseshoe Bat, as we share a love of caves. Unfortunately, these species are now largely confined to south-west England and south Wales in the UK, so I feel very fortunate that I was able to record them.
Examples of the recordings can be viewed as sonograms below.
The Song Meter Mini Bat 2 is an excellent ultrasonic passive recorder. The unit is compact and lightweight, making it easy to store and carry in the field. The set-up was easy thanks to the simple user interface on the Song Meter App, which you can easily navigate to configure and check on your device. The Bluetooth beacon came in useful throughout the week as it allowed me to see the battery life and SD storage without taking the device down.
The Mini Bat 2 has a highly sensitive ultrasonic microphone capable of capturing high-quality recordings up to 250kHz, covering a truly impressive ultrasonic range. The sonograms above show the clear and distinct waveforms created; characteristic of the different species recorded. The excellent recording quality also helps to simplify the sound analysis when using the auto ID function of Kaleidoscope Pro.
The Song Meter Mini Bat 2 is a great addition to the Wildlife Acoustics range and features many improvements over its predecessor. It’s easy set up and deployment, making it simple and engaging to use. With its improved weatherproofing and in-built Bluetooth beacon, the Mini Bat 2 is a brilliant choice for remote recording. Furthermore, the increased battery life means the unit can be used for short- and long-term surveys.
In summary, the Mini Bat 2 is a fantastic all-rounder with a wide array of configurations and capabilities making it an ideal recorder for both enthusiasts and researchers.
