Barn owl chicks are surprisingly noisy. Now, thanks to a project based in Dorset, their hissing chatter might be the key to protecting them – without anyone needing to peek inside the nest.
Bournemouth University PhD student Kavisha Jayathunge is developing artificial intelligence that can listen to young barn owls and work out how many are in the nest – just from their calls. Each chick has a slightly different hiss, and while a human couldn’t tell them apart, the software can. It can even track which owlet is which … and may one day be able to estimate how hungry they are based on how they call for food.
‘We’re using AI to count baby barn owls by sound instead of disturbing them with video cameras,’ says Kavisha. ‘It means we can monitor natural nest sites as well as nestboxes – and do it all without stressing the birds.’
The research is being carried out with Dorset-based engineer and biologist Brian Cresswell, who specialises in using technology to support conservation. Their prototype has already successfully identified three chicks from one North Dorset nest recording.
Brian added: ‘It’s a great research tool – and might help us understand more about what the hissing actually means.’
Because the sound of a barn owl chick carries so far, the idea is that conservation volunteers could one day simply place a recorder in a nearby hedge and leave the AI to do the clever bit. The work could be particularly valuable in hard-to-reach natural sites, where checking nests isn’t feasible – or legal.
‘This could be brilliant for citizen science,’ said Kavisha. ‘It’s inexpensive, non-invasive, and it’s using technology for something genuinely good – helping barn owls thrive.’
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