Carbon Rewild

Bioacoustic monitoring technology that’s both powerful and easy to use. Scaled and customised to your needs, and get started at a time of your choosing. Learn more at >> www.carbonrewild.com #bioacousticmonitoring #biodiversity #naturedata

Did you know the UK is home to a fantastic variety of owls—such as the Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Little Owl, Long-eared Owl, and Short-eared Owl? Winter is an especially exciting time to appreciate them, as the long winter nights and early breeding season mean their hoots, screeches, and calls are more noticeable than ever. Keep an ear out for the iconic hooting of the Tawny Owl, often heard echoing throughout the year, and can often be heard duetting with potential mates and young. Meanwhile, barn owls and their eerie screeches can be found silently gliding over fields and meadows in search of prey. If you’re lucky, you might spot a Little Owl perched on fence posts at dusk, or hear the Long-eared Owl’s deep hoot and the Short-eared Owl’s barking call (though relatively quiet!) in more open habitats. Bioacoustic monitoring offers a wealth of data on these nocturnal birds with 24 hour recording, enabling long-term monitoring of these key species, and giving us insights into their presence and behaviours!

Earlier this week we celebrated World Wetlands Day, a reminder of the vital role wetlands play in our natural world. These extraordinary ecosystems are not only a haven for diverse wildlife, they also offer essential services such as flood management, helping to protect our communities from extreme weather. Let’s appreciate and safeguard our wetlands, ensuring a healthier future for both people and nature. We are lucky to have worked with leading organisations restoring wetland habitats and re-building whole wetland ecosystems, and look forward to listening in on some wonderful wetland wildlife, from herons to water voles, throughout 2025!

Biodiversity has an increasing focus within UK food security strategies because strong domestic production relies on the long-term sustainability of the entire food system—particularly through healthy soil, water, and a diverse range of wildlife. Farmland bird species are widely regarded as an important indicator of overall biodiversity and ecosystem health. Because they occupy different habitats within agricultural landscapes and sit at various levels in the food web, their population trends reveal broader environmental changes that also affect other wildlife. Long-term monitoring shows that the UK’s farmland bird index in 2023 was 61% below its 1970 value, with the steepest declines occurring in the 1970s and 1980s, largely driven by intensive farming practices and the loss of mixed farming systems. Monitoring key species groups such as farmland birds offers a range of insights to enable better conservation practices and giving you the tools to build a more nature-friendly future.

Great to be at the Citizen Zoo Rewilding Futures conference 2025!!! Great suite of talks and debate today. Plenty of good ideas to discuss. Looking forward to presenting tomorrow! #citizenzoo2025 #rewildingfutures

Huge thanks to rePLANET for showcasing our partnership and how bioacoustic monitoring can be scalable and cost-effective to help establish critical biodiversity baselines and guide restoration efforts. Last year we worked together across 6 sites, and integrated the monitoring results into the established Wallacea Trust Methodology to effectively quantify biodiversity change. Check out their post below to learn more about how bioacoustic monitoring enable end users to gather reliable data and make meaningful conservation progress. We look forward to continuing our partnership with rePLANET and advancing our work together!

While their similar size makes visual identification tricky—especially among Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, and Fieldfare—their distinct songs and calls offer an easier way to identify them. Thrushes are known for their loud and prolific vocalisations, so there’s always a good chance of hearing one, even as migrant species come and go. Winter Walks Tip: Now’s the perfect time to spot Redwings and Fieldfares on your seasonal adventures. Keep your ears tuned for their distinctive calls! Read our latest blog to learn more about these fascinating species and how bioacoustics can help track their presence.

Looking forward to speaking at the 2025 Citizen Zoo Rewilding Conference in January. Richard Howard and Stefan Zeeman will be exploring how bioacoustic monitoring can unlock insights into biodiversity. With a specific focus on biodiversity “measurement”, we will explore how the principle of measurement uncertainty can be applied to bioacoustic monitoring as well as the benefits of thinking about uncertainty, including assessing if change has really occurred and underpinning confidence in nature investment. Tickets still available via Citizen Zoo

Sometimes the office can surprise you - What a stunning day to be out and about. Last week, Jura MacMillan Joanna Maclennan and Freddie Ingleby headed into the hills for the day to capture some footage for an exciting project that we are working on with Wetlands International international. Joined by the peatland guru that is Hans (Johan) Schutten and supported by Achanacarry estate manager Astie Cameron and Achnacarry Sporting (thanks Alex!), we set off into a recently restored site to collect eDNA samples (which are now being analysed by UHI ) and install bioacoustics monitors (provided by Carbon Rewild ). But there’s more - we had the incredible Gregor D Sinclair with us from Scotica Films, capturing the whole day for the previously mentioned project! We’ve had a sneak peak of the results and we can’t wait to share them with you super soon! We’re making restoration happen: focussed on boosting integrity, collecting objective data and supporting these projects over the long term. Do get in touch if you want to join the journey! #peatlands #restoration #nature

Shorebirds in trouble! The latest IUCN Red List update shows alarming declines in UK. Scientists reviewing the conservation status of the world’s bird populations have confirmed that four UK shorebird species have seen significant declines in numbers. As a result, Grey Plovers, Dunlins, Turnstones and Curlew Sandpipers have moved to higher threat categories on the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These new additions reflect broader trends seen in the UK Breeding Seabird Index, which has fallen 24% since 1986. These declines show how birds are vital indicators of the health of our ecosystems. UK estuaries are a lifeline for these birds, but they’re under threat too. 🌊 Our monitoring data shows us the incredible biodiversity that is held on or near coastlines, especially for migratory species. Time to act now to protect our precious coastal ecosystems.