Birding Challenge: ingenious birding-related inventions wanted!

Instructables is a “maker” site, where people can share their home-made creations – and how to build them – with other inventive types around the world. They have a new birding channel for all bird-related projects: equipment people have made or modified, projects for the back-garden birder, or sharing skills and insider tips on birding. To launch the channel they are running a competition.

So if you have any home-grown birding projects that you want to share, and you are interested in the chance to win some cracking prizes, check out the competition page for the Birding Challenge. The competition entry call-out is also for software tools or apps that can be used use in the field.

The organiser of the challenge is a UK birder resident in San Francisco, and of course this competition is open to people from anywhere in the world. It closes at 11:59pm August 28th PST, on the dot, so you have just over a week to get in the shed and start sketching out your winning design!

Instructables Birding Challenge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dormouse Nest Tubes – fast, secure placement

How have we improved our dormouse nest tubes?

dormouse tubeWe have just released a new and improved model of the dormouse nest tube. What’s different? Well, we have tried to tackle two of the most frequently encountered problems with setting up dormouse nest tubes. (1) It can be tricky to attach them securely to a branch and (2) once ‘securely attached’ they are prone to slipping. To reduce these issues we have added retaining loops to the base of the nest tube to stop slippage and to enable faster placement.

We also supply 71cm cable ties for fast set-up. If you prefer using garden wire to secure your nest tubes then this method will also be easier using the new loops.

Dormouse survey – best practice

hazel dormouseFor the non- (or new) professionals out there a few quick pointers on best practice for a survey using dormouse nest tubes.

  1. Surveys should not be limited to habitat perceived as ‘optimal’ but should be undertaken in any areas of affected woody habitat (including adjacent areas if the impact of development is likely to extend beyond the site footprint).
  2. Normally at least 50 nest tubes should be placed at roughly 15-20m intervals and these should be left in place (and checked monthly) for the majority of the active season.
  3. In order to have any chance of obtaining a license to carry out work affecting dormouse habitat you must first conduct a survey with a probability of 20 or above of finding dormice if they are present (although please remember that an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence). To calculate the probability score for your survey you add together the scores (Table 1) for the months during which the survey was conducted (for surveys conducted using 50 dormouse nest tubes and following the advice given in points 1 and 2 above).

dormouse survey results

 

 

 

 

 

Taken at face value this means that all dormouse surveys should begin by June at the latest; however, it is possible to start a survey later than this under certain conditions. For example, you can increase survey effort by increasing the number of dormouse nest tubes deployed (if you use 100 tubes you can double the scores in Table 1). Note though that surveys conducted using a large number of tubes for a short period are not good practice and nor are surveys where tubes are crowded together at intervals of less than 15-20m (although 10m intervals may be acceptable in very small sites).

For further details we recommend you consult the latest guidance from Natural England in England or your national licensing authority (e.g. Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, etc.).

Dormouse resources:

The Mammal Society

Dormice: A Tale of Two Species jacket imageDormice: A Tale of Two Species
Pat Morris

 

 

 

Living with Dormice jacket imageLiving with Dormice
Sue Eden

 

 

Dormouse survey products:

dormouse nest tubeDormouse nest tubes

 

 

Standard Dormouse BoxDormouse box

 

 

 

 

 

Getting started with the SM2BAT+ bat detector

SM2BAT+The Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter SM2BAT+ is a passive ultrasound recorder that can be left out in the field for long periods of time to record ultrasound at frequencies of up to 192 kHz. The SM2BAT+ comes packaged in a plain green weatherproof box making it easy to position discretely without the need for expensive or time consuming efforts to weatherproof/camouflage it. Setting a bat detector up for passive monitoring can be a slightly daunting experience for the first time user so we have produced an annotated internal diagram (see below right – click the image to enlarge) and this blog post describing our experiences getting started with the SM2BAT+. Despite feeling a little scared at Inside the SM2BAT+the sight of circuit boards I am pleased to report that I found the SM2BAT+ to be very user friendly – read on for our idiot’s guide to setting up an SM2BAT+.

Getting started

The first thing you will need to do is insert four D-Cell batteries into the slots. A number of variables affect battery life including the quality/type of the battery, temperature, and the recording mode. The manual produced by Wildlife Acoustics suggests that if high quality Alkaline D-Cells are used at 20oC then you should get 130 hours recording time at 192 kHz mono and 100 hours recording time at 192 kHz stereo or 384 kHz mono when using in WAV mode and over 300 hours of recording time when using ZCA mode.

Next you will need to insert an SDHC card into one of the Flash Card Slots. Wildlife Acoustics recommend using good quality SDHC Class 4 or Class 6 cards and a single 32GB card should easily last a minimum of 2 weeks.

How to programme your SM2BAT+

Now it is time to programme your SM2BAT+. Setting up a simple schedule is very easy, switch the unit on by pressing the WAKE/EXIT button. Once it has woken up you will be able to see whether your SDHC card has been accepted and how much spare memory is available. To programme your unit press the SELECT button to see the menu; then to scroll through the menu options press the UP and DOWN buttons, press BACK to move back up a level, and press SELECT to move left and/or toggle through a list of options.

Below left shows a schematic (click to enlarge) of the Song Meter Main Menu and includes the settings I used for a trial run of the SM2BAT+. The first page of the menu includes three options – Schedule, Settings and Utilities. Setting the schedule could not be easier, press SELECT when the cursor is flashing next to Schedule, then press SELECT again, update the time using the UP and DOWN buttons then press SELECT again to keep moving to the left filling in the details as you go. You will see that I have set our SM2BAT+ to come on at 20:30 and record for 10 hours.

SM2BAT+ SchematicPress BACK to come out of the Schedule menu and then DOWN to move to Settings, then SELECT again to enter the Settings menu. For a quick test of the unit you will need to set the time and date using the UP, DOWN, SELECT, and BACK buttons as before. Finally select AUDIO to check the recording settings. In my test run I opted for a Sample rate of 384000 (384 kHz) because we have lesser horseshoe bats in the Totnes area. This is because the maximum frequency recorded is equal to half the sample rate – consequently, at a sample rate of 384 kHz the SM2BAT+ will record ultrasound at frequencies up to 192 kHz on one channel (perfect for lesser horseshoes that echolocate at around 110 kHz). If you want to use both channels (i.e. two microphones) you have to record at a maximum sample rate of 192 kHz. Although you may miss lesser horseshoe bats the big advantage of using both channels is that you can separate the microphones (using extension cables – available from NHBS) by up to 100m, effectively doubling the number of bat detectors you own for the price of a couple of cables. Alternatively you can separate the microphones by 10-20m to measure flight directionality along a linear feature.

Next you need to select which channel to record on. Under Channels I selected Mono-L to record from the left hand microphone input. For Compression I selected Off which means that the SM2BAT+ is in trigger mode and records individual WAV files for each trigger.  Analook users may prefer to use the ZCA option which records individual ZCA files for each trigger. Alternatively, some users may prefer the WAC0 option which produces a continuous compressed WAC file for the duration of the recording period (actually the files are size limited so I found that 1hr 33min chunks are produced). That’s it… all you need to do now is take your SM2BAT+ to your field site.

Field set-up

Once at your field site check the settings and do a test recording. To do this plug some headphones into the headphone jack and start recording by pressing both the UP and DOWN buttons simultaneously. Once the recording has started press SELECT to view the channels and then make some ultrasound by eg. tapping your fingers and thumb together or rattling some keys. If all is well then put your unit back to sleep, seal the weatherproof enclosure (don’t forget to take a screwdriver with you) and plug your microphone in to the left hand microphone input (using your extension cable makes hiding the unit much easier). It is worth remembering that the indicator LED is visible when the lid is on so make sure this cannot be seen by passers-by.

Data analysis

Downloading the data is also easy – simply remove the SDHC card and place it into an SD card reader. To analyse the data I used Pettersson’s BatSound v4.12. My WAV files opened immediately and I used the Close, open, next button to scroll quickly through the files so the analysis was quick and painless. On my first night I recorded soprano pipistrelle and greater horseshoe bats in the centre of Totnes.

Available now from NHBS

 

New: Carwardine’s Ultimate Wildlife Experiences – plus great backlist special offer

Mark Carwardine's Ultimate Wildlife Experiences jacket image‘Ultimate Wildlife Experiences’ is the new book from Mark Carwardine: zoologist, conservationist, award-winning writer, TV and radio presenter, widely published wildlife photographer, best-selling author and columnist and wildlife tour leader. Carwardine’s last account of world wildlife travel – 2009’s Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams – found him teaming up with Stephen Fry to retrace the steps of Carwardine’s 1980 journey with Douglas Adams in search of some of the world’s most endangered animals.

His new book – with a foreword by Fry – is a product of his lifetime’s experience of wildlife encounters around the world and introduces 20 extraordinary adventures including catching sight of the rare spirit bears of Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, navigating the hostile world of the Komodo dragon in Indonesia and finding favour with the curious and friendly Florida manatees.

Available now from NHBS

Two of Carwardine’s classic marine wildlife guides are now available from NHBS at nearly half price:

On the Trail of the Whale jacket imageOn the Trail of the Whale

 

£4.99 

was £9.95

 

 

The Shark-Watcher's Handbook jacket imageThe Shark Watcher’s Handbook

 

£9.99

was £16.99

 

The NHBS Batalogue 2012 – available now

NHBS Batalogue 2012The Batalogue is our annual catalogue of bat detectors and accessories for bat work and bat groups. There are hundreds of products and accessories to choose from, along with detailed specifications and comparison charts.

How to get the Batalogue

Option #1  Browse the Batalogue online

Option #2 Call (+44 (0) 1803 865913), or email us, for a free printed copy

New user info for the Echo Meter EM3 Bat Detector from Wildlife Acoustics

We recently received the following information from Wildlife Acoustics to help you get the most out of your Echo Meter EM3 Bat DetectorEcho Meter EM3

 

Dear EM3 User,

Congratulations on your purchase of the Wildlife Acoustics Echo Meter EM3 Bat Detector! We think the EM3 represents the most advanced technology available in a handheld detector and provides unparalleled functionality at a fraction of the price of other professional detectors. A piece of equipment with this much technology does, however, have a learning curve. To help you master the skills necessary to get the best performance from your new detector we would like to share some tips and best practices (and common mistakes) we have learned since its release. We think the following information will help you get the most out of your EM3.

Update your firmware!

We are constantly making improvements to all of our products via firmware updates. These improvements can include important bug fixes as well as new functionality or requested features. We provide these updates at no charge to add further value to our products. Please go to www.wildlifeacoustics.com/downloads to download the latest version of firmware and read the release notes on what has changed. The current firmware version loaded on your Echo Meter can be seen on the top left of the “splash screen” at start-up. At the time of this email we are on version 1.1.2.

Introducing a whole new approach to zero crossing

With this email we would like to introduce a free new software we have developed called Kaleidoscope and a whole new approach to zero crossing. Kaleidoscope converts WAV or WAC files into zero crossing files with incredible quality and speed. In fact the results are superior not only to any existing zero crossing conversion software but they are also superior to what would be possible with native zero crossing. Don’t just trust us, try it and let us know what you think!

The conversion is incredibly fast. It can convert several nights of data in just a few minutes. This represents a 30x improvement over our existing WAC2WAV software, which was on par or faster than any other conversion software.

Kaleidoscope can even convert zero crossing to WAV (yes you read that right). This is a great way to be able to convert your Zero Crossing files into audible WAV files. Kaleidoscope is available on the download page of our site (see the link above). It is currently in Beta and will ultimately replace our WAC2WAV conversion software.

What about native zero crossing?

As you know the EM3 also has the ability to record zero crossing files natively and you might be wondering how that compares to full spectrum files converted to zero crossing using Kaleidoscope. We feel the results from Kaleidoscope are superior to native zero crossing, whether it be on the EM3 or any other zero crossing recorder. The zero crossing results from Kaleidoscope are so good and the conversion is so fast that we are now recommending this as the best approach. Feel free to test this out if you need convincing. You can record simultaneously in WAV and zero crossing, convert the WAV files to zero crossing and compare the results.

If you do prefer to stick with the native zero crossing, here are a couple tips to get the best results. Always be sure to adjust the zero crossing sensitivity (just hold down the speaker button until you enter FDAdj made). The default setting is quite high and will not pick up many bats. Also, always adjust the setting using headphones. If you adjust using the speaker, the feedback from the speaker will result in a much higher than optimal setting. You want to set the level just to the point where you only hear a little noise rather than a constant din of noise. This should be three or four squares on the display.

We have found that the GPS attachment for the EM3 can introduce noise into the zero crossing circuit. This necessitates setting the sensitivity up a couple squares. For best zero crossing results with the GPS please consider our recommendation to use WAC and convert using Kaleidoscope. As an added bonus, when using the GPS in WAC mode, you will retain not only the location of every recording but the entire transect path. Kaleidoscope can output the recording locations and the path during the conversion process into a KML file compatible with Google Earth!

Try Real Time Expansion (RTE)!

We have included three monitoring modes in the EM3. Heterodyne and Frequency Division were included for those familiar and comfortable with those technologies. We also developed our own novel technique for monitoring called Real Time Expansion. This technique provides all of the frequency and timing information of the original call. It has superior tonality to Frequency Division and does not require tuning like Heterodyne. We consider it the best monitoring method on the market. If you have been using Heterodyne or Frequency Division, we strongly encourage you to try RTE.

Screen adjustments

Remember that you can adjust both the brightness and contrast of the screen to suit any lighting condition and preference. If you momentarily press and release the Display button, you can then adjust brightness using either the Plus and Minus buttons or Up and Down buttons. The contrast is adjusted using the Right and Left Arrow buttons. You can also switch between “black on white” and “white on black” display modes by holding down the Display button.

Getting back to the present

We have seen a common confusion where users are monitoring for bats while scrolling back through the spectrogram buffer to look at past calls. When you are viewing calls at or near the end of the buffer and a bat comes along the end of the buffer begins to disappear as new data is written to the front. This can give the illusion that you are viewing “the present bat” because the buffer begins to move making the spectrogram scroll. To get “back to the present” to see the new bat calls being written to the spectrogram, just double click the X/Y button.

Use headphones for best sound quality

The speaker on the EM3 was included for convenience and can provide an excellent monitoring experience, but for the very best quality, we encourage you to try monitoring with headphones. Headphones have better fidelity, greater volume and more bandwidth than the speaker so they really bring the bat playback to life.

Always use the EM3 with charged batteries

The EM3 monitors battery level and automatically shuts down when the battery is near depletion. This prevents the circuitry from getting into a state where it is not appropriately powered resulting in erratic behavior. But if you power up the unit with nearly depleted batteries, it will exhibit this erratic behavior before the detector gets the chance to determine that the batteries are nearly depleted. It will be stuck in bad state and you will not be able to power down without removing a battery. Batteries tend to regain voltage over short durations of no use. This means that if you do not charge the batteries after using them and then power up the detector after some time, the batteries will have regained just enough voltage to power up but not enough to supply proper power. Also be aware, that the EM3 is never truly off, but in a deep sleep state so as to be able to retain the spectrogram buffer and clock. After a few weeks the batteries will deplete even after no use.

If you get stuck, reset

If, while using the EM3, you find that you have made a bad setting or gotten into an unknown state you can always reset the unit back to factory defaults. You simply pop a battery from the battery tray and reinsert while holding down the left button. Continue holding the button until the splash screen appears. Sometimes an apparently broken unit can be something as simple as the brightness having been turned quite a low at night appearing as though it won’t power up in the morning! This procedure would reset the brightness setting to default, apparently bringing the unit back to life.

Happy detecting.

Wildlife Acoustics, Inc.

Available now from NHBS

NHBS Equipment Team:

+44 (0)1803 865913

customer.services@nhbs.co.uk

Save 35% on ten natural history classics from Johns Hopkins UP this June

Always setting a high standard for scientific publishing, Johns Hopkins University Press titles span the range of our natural history subject areas providing solid high-quality research from top academics.

These ten books from JHUP have been – and continue to be – bestsellers at NHBS, and they are all on special offer at 35% off this June:

Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats jacket imageEcological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats

First published in 1988, “Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats” is widely acknowledged as the primary reference for both amateur and professional bat researchers. Only one group of mammals includes more species than bats. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica, range from deserts to tropical forests to mountains, and their activities have a profound effect on the ecosystems in which they live.

The Biology of Small Mammals jacket imageThe Biology of Small Mammals

The first exploration of the lives of small mammals undertaken in decades. Mammalogist Joseph F. Merritt offers an engaging, in-depth discussion about a diverse array of small mammals, from the rare Kitti’s hog-nosed bat of Southeast Asia to the bizarre aye-aye of Madagascar to the familiar woodchuck of North America.

Walker's Mammals of the World (Complete Edition) jacket imageWalker’s Mammals of the World (Complete Edition)

The sixth edition is 24% longer, and the number of separate genera has increased by 75 – among them, three remarkable large ungulates recently discovered in the forests of Indochina. New also is a full account of the woolly mammoth, now known to have survived until less than 4,000 years ago.

 

Walker's Bats of the World jacket imageWalker’s Bats of the World

Introduction by Thomas H. Kunz and Elizabeth D. Pierson. The first single segment of the leading reference workWalker’s Mammals of the World to become available as a separate volume. It is a complete guide to this varied order of mammals and includes scientific and common names, as well as the number and distribution of species, measurements and physical traits, habitat, daily and seasonal activity, population dynamics, home range, social life, reproduction, and longevity.

The Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years of Evolution jacket imageThe Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years of Evolution

For nearly 100 million years amphibians and their ancestors dominated the terrestrial and shallow water environments of the earth. Archaic animals with an amphibious way of life gave rise not only to modern frogs, salamanders, and caecilians but also to the ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Mountain Gorillas: Biology, Conservation and Coexistence jacket imageMountain Gorillas: Biology, Conservation and Coexistence

Tucked into one of the most beautiful and conflicted regions of the world are the last of the mountain gorillas. These apes have survived centuries of human encroachment into their range and decades of intense conflict and violence. The remaining 720 mountain gorillas exist in a fragile habitat, nestled in an area torn by human interests and needs for land, water, and minerals.

Dragonfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Anisoptera jacket imageDragonfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Anisoptera

Dragonfly Genera of the New World is a beautifully illustrated and comprehensive guide to the taxonomy and ecology of dragonflies in North, Middle, and South America. A reference of the highest quality, this book reveals their striking beauty and complexity. Although Odonata – dragonflies and damselflies – are among the most studied groups of insects, until now there has been no reliable means to identify the New World genera of either group.

Damselfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Zygoptera jacket imageDamselfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Zygoptera

In this companion volume to “Dragonfly Genera of the New World”, Rosser W. Garrison, Natalia von Ellenrieder, and Jerry A. Louton provide a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the damselflies of North, Central, and South America. Damselflies are more diverse and harder to identify than dragonflies.

Forest Ecosystems jacket imageForest Ecosystems

This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers.

Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex among Apes jacket imageChimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex among Apes

The first edition of Frans de Waal’s “Chimpanzee Politics” was acclaimed not only by primatologists for its scientific achievement but also by politicians, business leaders, and social psychologists for its remarkable insights into the most basic human needs and behaviors. Twenty-five years later, this book is considered a classic.

View the list of special offer books as a web page

New full-colour monograph focuses on the Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon jacket imageNew Holland have just published the third in their unique occasional series of ornithological monographs. Packed with brilliant full-colour photography, these attractive books are written by experts and passionate advocates for the particular species.

Patrick Stirling-Aird has studied Peregrine Falcons for more than 25 years. He is Secretary of the Scottish Raptor Study Groups and is an advisor to the British and Scottish governments on the conservation of the species. His monograph on the Peregrine has just been published and combines a detailed exploration of the science and natural history of the bird with an anecdotal tone borne of his years of personal experience.

Also available now in the same series:

Kingfisher by David Chandler and Ian Llewellyn (2010)

Barn Owl by David Chandler (2011)

Imagine a rock pool: wildlife kit winners with NHBS and Wildlife Watch magazine

NHBS Educational Rock Pooling KitIn association with NHBS, Wildlife Watch – the Wildlife Trusts‘ young members magazine – has been running a competition to win NHBS Educational Rock Pooling Kits

The task was to choose a shore creature and imagine a rock pool that would be ideally suited to its needs – and to draw it! There are five winners and their drawings suggest that there are plenty of inspired creative young minds out there with a passion for wildlife and environment.

Well done to the winners who should have received their rock pooling kits this week – you can see their creations here:

http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/Design-your-own-rock-pool

More NHBS Educational Kits:

Starter Butterfly Kit
Advanced Butterfly Kit
Educational Bug Hunting Kit
Advanced Bug Hunting Kit
Educational Pond Dipping Kit

New Edition of Bat Surveys: Good Practice Guidelines – available now

From the Bat Conservation Trust website:

The Bat Conservation Trust encourages people working with bats, or those who might come into contact with bats or their roosts during their daily lives, to follow good practice.

We have worked with organisations and individuals across many sectors to develop a range of guidance to help you conduct your business or perform your work with consideration for bats.

Bat Surveys jacket imageBat Surveys: Good Practice Guidelines, 2nd Ed.

Following feedback from experts in the field and authored by professionals, the Bat Conservation Trust has updated and revised the “Bat Surveys: Good Practice Guidelines“. In line with the latest evidence and best practice the second edition features new chapters and content, with revised advice and guidance. This is the essential reference and guide for anyone involved in professional bat work.

BCT Members receive a 20% discount: please quote your membership number when ordering (in the ‘comments’ field when ordering online), and the discount will be applied when we process your order. Please disregard the full amount quoted in your shopping basket and automated order confirmation. If you are not a BCT member, click on the following link to join online now and claim your discount. 

Join the Bat Conservation Trust today