Kaipātiki Dawn Chorus
Acoustically Monitoring Ecological Change
Calling all Bird Nerds!
We are thrilled to launch Kaipātiki Dawn Chorus — a new community‑powered acoustic monitoring project that will help us hear, understand and protect the health of our local environment.
We’re installing a network of acoustic sensors across Kaipātiki that detect bird-calls, and aid in building a long‑term picture of how our ecosystems are changing and recovering. The data will help us track biodiversity, understand the impact of restoration work like predator control and habitat restoration, and guide where volunteer time and resources can make the biggest difference.
This project has the potential to become one of the largest urban environment acoustic monitoring initiatives in Aotearoa, as we have a significant proportion of remnant ecosystems and forest cover in Kaipātiki to install these devices in.
This is a passion project developed from incredible volunteer vision and technical know-how. We are in the pilot phase, with many improvements and opportunities to get involved coming.
Visit the hub website to see the test acoustic network so far: birds.pfkbirdnet.org.nz
Join Us!
What makes Kaipātiki Dawn Chorus truly special is the community behind it. We’re calling on volunteers to help assemble, install, and maintain the monitoring devices, allowing us to build a cost-effective, large‑scale network.
You’ll be part of a ground breaking citizen science project where you’ll meet like-minded people, learn new skills, and enjoy the satisfaction of helping bring back the dawn chorus!
If you’d like to help us with making, installing or monitoring devices out in the bush, or want to know more about where the acoustic sensors can or will be placed, join our mailing list to hear about workshops and other events! We are particularly looking for 3D printing enthusiasts and creatives to help make further improvements to the technology.
If you are a researcher, a person who can spread the word, or you’d like to be involved in another way, contact us here: team@pfk.org.nz
We’ll also provide regular updates here on ourhomepage.
See the real-time data and developments from our acoustic sensor network: birds.pfkbirdnet.org.nz
The top 12 most recorded species from the first, single acoustic monitor
How is this project possible?
We are fortunate to have amazing volunteers, funders and technology working together to make this happen.
Kia ora rawa atu to the Knight family for making this possible.
We also gratefully acknowledge funding and support from the Kaipātiki Local Board to help make this project a reality.
The acoustic monitoring network utilises cutting-edge technology developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Chemnitz University of Technology. BirdNET-Go is an accessible, low-power software solution that turns low-cost hardware—like an Orange Pi—into a 24/7 automated acoustic bird-monitoring station using AI sound recognition. Starting with 10 acoustic sensors, we aim to build a network of 50+ monitoring stations across Kaipātiki.
