Bothersome birds gate-crash pest-proof safe sanctuaries

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-01-26 03:00

New Zealand

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Every evening at sunset, large numbers of communal roosting birds such as starlings and sparrows are flying into wildlife sanctuaries to spend the night in safe, predator-free spaces. As these populations increase, so does the amount of faeces which can be damaging to ecosystems such as wetlands. Knowing how many birds there are will help to manage this issue, and now Kiwi researchers have come up with a new method for estimating large numbers of congregating birds - by using gridded plates to gather guano, and sound recorders to measure the "acoustic cacophony".