【登登登登～被動聲學監測】

夜媽媽鬼咁黑，究竟我哋嘅研究員點樣辨認夜鳥呢？

今次大嶼山嘅夜鳥研究，我哋特別使用「被動聲學監測」技術 (Passive Acoustic Monitoring, PAM) ，能夠喺唔騷擾野鳥情況下，記錄雀鳥獨特叫聲，從而判斷肉眼難以觀察嘅物種。

但點先做到被動又聲學監測？

PAM所用到嘅法寶就係......自動錄音機！只要預先設定時間同日期，呢部軍綠色嘅錄音機就可以全天候、定時地記錄附近雀鳥叫聲。事實上，世界各地已經有好多生態學家運用PAM技術，研究棲息於偏遠地區或者罕見嘅雀鳥 (詳情可參考：Shonfield & Bayne, 2017, https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00974-120114)。

我哋已經喺大嶼山唔同地點設置自動錄音機，未來一年將會每日由日落到日岀，錄低大嶼山嘅夜鳥叫聲。記得密切留意我哋會錄到咩夜鳥喇！

*此計劃由 #大嶼保育基金 贊助

[What is PAM?!]

Last time, we talked about how studying night birds isn't simple because it's really hard to observe them with our own eyes. Often, we have to rely on their unique calls to locate them.

To study the night birds on Lantau Island, we will use the 'Passive Acoustic Monitoring' (PAM). What exactly is this combination of passive and acoustic monitoring all about? In essence, PAM silently records their songs and calls without disturbing the wild birds.

And the "secret gadgets" in PAM are... autonomous recording units (ARUs)! Once you set the time and date, they'll listen for nearby birds round the clock. Many ecologists are already using PAM to study birds residing in remote areas or rare species (a review for reference: Shonfield & Bayne, 2017, https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00974-120114).

We have set up these ARUs in various locations across Lantau Island. For the upcoming year, they'll capture the night bird calls daily from sunset to sunrise! Stay tuned as we share the night birds we've recorded on Lantau Island~

*This project is funded by #LantauConservationFund

#香港觀鳥會 #HKBWS #鳥類保育 #自然保育 #可持續大嶼 #大嶼山保育基金 #LantauConservationFund