Awesome news! Sorry if this question is addressed but I didn't see schematics on the page. If this is open source do you release the full PCB layout files? I can see this being a great base for many applications, including commercial operations.

Just out of curiosity (and apologies for resurrecting such an ancient thread) - did you ever get this off the ground? I just saw an article that mentioned how noisy natterjack toads are so I thought I'd google whether anyone's using bioacoustics to monitor them, and this popped up!

Just to provide an update to my post from 2021. Colleagues and I at the BTO have built a species classifier now for the BTO Acoustic Pipeline for the sound identification of all UK native and non-native frogs and toad species - including Natterjack Toad. 

As with all our audible / bird classifiers, this will be free to use where the results / data can be shared.

We are currently working with researchers at ARC, and a few other individuals to test and refine the identification for particular species before we make this publicly available. 

I would be interested to hear from anyone with sound recordings of Natterjack Toad, who would be happy to try out a beta version of the classifier.

Hi Vishnu,

Considering only motion detection video, it is possible to modify (most) camera traps to trigger an external piece of equipment like an audio recorder.  I'm not aware of any suitable off-the-shelf recorder, but I can build you one.  However many camera traps that will take video will also record audio, although the quality may not be suitable for all types of audio analysis.

We have a camera that could do this over some distance away due to a thermal module being involved. It will also record very high quality audio (Nature recording audiophiles rave about the microphone being used). can trigger on motion detection and also in addition to a thermal module has a low light module that can record in colour under moon light. Normally, the system records continuously and triggered for video alerting as it can be accessed remotely.



But it would draw much more power than microcontroller based systems (Around 5W for motion triggering) so you would need to place a solar panel with it and it would be quite a big one. This is offset by the ability to view from much greater distances, audio record, perfect visibility in pitch darkness.



Our next work packages will be to make a website to highlight all that, we don't have that yet. It would cost more than the brino as well, however likely you would need less instances (Maybe one versus many).



Below is a video review of the em272 microphone, which is what we use in our setup for recording the audio. We also merge in this external audio into our continuous video streams.



 

It could also record 24/7 continuously full motion h264 video with em272 microphone audio without replacing the media if you wish. It would need power for that whole time though.



Please contact me directly if this is relevant to your use case.

A few bits of free/cheap improvement on waterproofing which is always a massive pain:

- if you can't seal it entirely then drill a drain hole in the bottom

- Cover every exposed electronic bit you can with a spray-on clear coat. Clear nail varnish for small areas. You can get electric specific products but most spray laquers work. 

- Smear dielectric grease on battery and cable connections you can't protect with clear coat. 

Super nice project! 

How do you imagine thermal cameras will help with vegetation? It cannot exactly look though it.

Rather than placing the camera inside the metalbox have you thought about simply placing it high and out of reach of the wolves? 

Read "[Official] Reolink Go Ranger PT - 1st 4K 4G Cellular Trail Camera" on

[Official] Reolink Go Ranger PT - 1st 4K 4G Cellular Trail Camera

The Go Ranger PT offers true 4K image quality and excellent night vision with a large F1.6 aperture and the invisible 940nm no-glow IR LEDs. The battery camera also comes with a solar panel and works over a 4G mobile network, perfect for a wilderness adventure, such as observing wildlife, etc.

Although it sounds like you are happy with locally saved footage, having some live feed is a great insurance that the system is up and running and not in need of service!

Hi Aleksandra,

Welcome! I'm also from a technical background (software development, data engineering, and data science) and making the shift into conservation tech. Like you, I don't come from a formal biology or ecology background, but I share a strong interest in using data-driven approaches to help protect nature.

Your focus on the ocean resonates with me. I think it's incredibly exciting how machine learning and data tools can support things like biodiversity monitoring, acoustic analysis, marine spatial planning, and more.

I’d be really keen to swap notes on transitioning into this space, learn about the projects you're interested in, and share resources. Feel free to reach out or post more about what you're exploring!

Manish Gadhvi 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgadhvi 
https://github.com/mgadhvi

Hi There! 

For biologgers, I think there are a few on the market that have been attached to marine mammals. I've provided a few links to ones that I know have been used for understanding the behavioural responses to sound - Dtags made by SMRU and Acousonde tags. 

You could also have a look through The Inventory here on WildLabs for other devices on the market.  

Hope that helps!

Courtney

Hey Maggie, 

@TomKnowles and his team, 2025 awardees, are working on a acoustic tags to be deployed Basking Sharks!

Hi Adam,

Have you connected with Wildlife Imaging Systems? Their thermal system can detect bird and bat activity. My company collaborates with them, and we have previously worked on developing algorithms to distinguish collisions from other activity.

Read "Wildlife Imaging Systems " on Wildlife Imaging Systems

Wildlife Imaging Systems

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Wildlife Imaging Systems