The Spring of Migratory Birds app hit the app stores in April. By recording the birds’ song, users support high quality science.
There is a bird singing somewhere, but what species is it?
A native app can now be used to help with identification. The University of Jyväskylä has developed a smartphone app that identifies bird species by their song.
The app currently identifies 150 species of birds in Finland, but the number of species is expected to increase over time.
For example, on Thursday, the Migratory Bird Spring application was in first place in the App Store’s listing, which lists the most popular free applications in Finland at the moment.
For example, the Eurovision Song Contest application was left behind.
The bongas have already been diligently done. The magazine estimates that there would be up to two million observations made by users in total.
– On Wednesday, the map showed about 200,000 observations, which are more than 90 percent almost certain observations. You can actually multiply the number by ten to include all observations.
– This was quite a crunch, says Lehtiö.
The app supports high quality science
The application is a joy for users, but it also brings valuable information to researchers. The observations help researchers get information about, for example, when which migratory birds arrive in Finland.
Research is also helped by the fact that observations are made from different parts of Finland. Birds have been spotted both in the south and in the north.
By using the application, users are, as if without realizing it, involved in doing science.
– There is a win-win situation in development. Users get into the forest and make their own observations, but they also half-accidentally support high-level science, says Lehtiö.
– We have recorded, and the application has found birds quite well, says Härmä.
Even if he doesn’t actively follow birds, Härmä can already identify, for example, the coot, the mallard and the red tern without the app. He would like to learn to recognize a stork.
– In an authentic environment, you can observe better than from a picture and a book, says Roos.
Findings even from Portugal
Academy professor Ovaskainen recently received funding of 150,000 euros from the European Science Council, which helps in the development of the application.
Migratory Bird Spring is currently only available in Finnish app stores. However, according to the magazine, the application also has the ingredients to become a global hit.
Observations have also been made abroad, such as in Iceland and Cyprus. On the island of Madeira, which belongs to Portugal, by Thursday, among other things, the wood lark, the black thrush and the kestrel had been spotted.
– Why couldn’t Jyväskylä become an application that could also be used worldwide, thinks Lehtiö.
*More about the Migratory Bird Spring project can be found on Yle Luonno’s* *website**.*
*Have you already spotted migratory birds? You can comment on the topic until Saturday, May 13 at 11 pm.*