Haldwani forest division uses AI to monitor birds

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Haldwani forest division has launched an innovative bird monitoring initiative using advanced wildlife acoustic recorders and AI-based analysis for scientific assessment of avian biodiversity, a senior official said on Monday.

Under this initiative, automated wildlife acoustic recorders are being deployed in forest areas to continuously capture natural sounds and bird calls from the environment, Haldwani Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kundan Kumar said.

These devices are capable of recording sounds round-the-clock with minimal human disturbance, he said.

“Since every bird species has unique vocal signatures and call patterns, the recorded audio data can be analysed using AI-based software to identify species and assess their occurrence and activity. The collected audio recordings will be processed using machine learning and deep learning algorithms capable of analysing thousands of hours of acoustic data in a short time,” Kumar said.

The system can help identify bird species, estimate their presence and relative abundance, understand activity patterns and generate valuable scientific insights regarding habitat use and biodiversity status.

“Haldwani forest division considers this initiative an important step towards integrating modern technology with wildlife conservation in Uttarakhand. Use of wildlife acoustic recorder and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning-based technology for bird monitoring is being done for the first time in Uttarakhand,” he said.