Teachers' Environment Network TEN Talk- Using Bird-PUC at your School to track birds

Are you looking for a great student project? Or do you just love birds? 

If you answered yes, join us as Edmond Lascaris, Stormwater Management Specialist at City of Whittlesea Council describes how Whittlesea schools are using the new Bird-PUC to track local and migratory birds. He will also share ways your school can be involved in the project.

This is the first TEN Talk for the Teachers' Environment Network for 2024 with more to be announced soon.

More about the Bird-PUC

The City of Whittlesea is a haven for both local and migratory bird species and one of our rarest visitors is the threatened Swift Parrot. This parrot migrates from breeding grounds in the forests of Tasmania to various parts of south-eastern Australia and there’s only around 2000 individuals remaining in the wild.

They have been observed in various part of the municipality including Plenty Gorge and other conservation reserves and private properties where their main food source is flowering gums. 

The creators of BirdNET have introduced an innovative tool known as Bird-PUC, a compact computer designed to automatically record and identify bird species based on their distinct calls. The tiny computers have been programmed to recognise up to 3000 different bird calls.

The information can be used by Australian researchers and the public to monitor populations of different bird species. The data is then published to BirdWeather.com.

Two Bird-PUCs are being tested in the City of Whittlesea in conservation areas, parks, schools and waterways. The data will help build a more detailed map of birdlife in the area. In turn, we hope this increased knowledge about our local birdlife will encourage greater community involvement in environmental activities, such as tree planting, to enhance bird habitat.

City of Whittlesea acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, the Wurundjeri Willum Clan and Taungurung Peoples and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.