Interested in making a difference for threatened bird species? Here’s a rare National Science Week opportunity to help analyse data collected by CallTrackers – citizen scientists who have been volunteering their time across Tasmania to help find out how these species are going. Are current conservation efforts working?

First, you’ll get to quiz the presenters on what we know about the mysterious, threatened Australasian bittern. Then you can start listening to the amazing sounds of the Tassie bush at night, and see these sounds translated into brilliant colours (spectographs). You’ll be particularly listening out for the bittern’s deep booming sound.

Within the data collected by the CallTrackers, 2800 sound files have been recognised as possible bittern calls by the project software, but humans are needed to confirm these results - and improve the automatic recognition process at the same time.

Bring a laptop and some headphones and get ready to listen!

There are two listening workshops - this one, in the morning (10 am – 1 pm); and one in the afternoon (1:30 – 4:30 pm). Book your place on just one, or both – whatever works for your weekend schedule. Light refreshments are included, and lunch provided for those staying for the whole day. 

This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the data analysis process. And together, by the end of the day, we’ll also have more information about exactly where in Tassie the bittern has been heard. You'll be the first to know!

Open to anyone interested in birds, bird calls and nature conservation, as well as participating CallTrackers who would like to join in and learn more about using the data they’ve collected.

Hosted by Nature Trackers and the University of Tasmania, with support from Inspiring Tasmania. Image provided by Helen Cunningham.