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African Raptor Observations 1.0.4
Raptors are one of the most sensitiveindicators of ecosystem health. They are the first to decline or belost from our skies when something is amiss lower down in the foodchain. ‘African Raptor Observations’ is a free mobile applicationwhich will enable enthusiasts and novices alike to submit theirrecords of these vital species from across Africa. The data iscollected in the field without the need for a cellular network orsource of WiFi. When a connection becomes available, theobservations can be uploaded to a live data observatory housed on aserver in an unassuming barn nestled on the coast of Pembrokeshire,West Wales. From here the data will be analysed to model theabundance of each species and to help identify and monitor thehealth of their habitats across one of the most biologically richyet vulnerable continents on Earth.There is a long history of ornithological observation on raptors orbirds of prey which has followed the traditional methods of fieldnotebooks which are either painstakingly mobilised onto computerlater or they may be forgotten altogether. Habitat INFO has teamedup with The Peregrine Fund, Kurt Eckerstrom, Convention onMigratory Species (Raptors MOU) and ESRI software providers tochange how we do our observation. Armed with ‘African RaptorObservations’ members of the public are invited to easily recordsightings of raptors anywhere on the continent on their phones. Theapp has been designed to use the GPS and other advances in phonetechnologies to obtain precise locations of these sightings evenwhen out of cellular network range, and then these can be uploadedto the live data observatory when a connection becomes availableagain.A crucial advance is the ability of this app to log the efforts ofthe observers. A common problem with the majority of biologicalrecords is that they often reflect the movements of the observersmore than the locations of the target species. However, byrecording where the observer has been as well as what they’ve seenit’s possible to assess observer effort and calculate observationsper kilometre or hour. This means we will be able to compare whatis happening to these birds and their environments across regionsand across time.Much of what makes up a biological record: who recorded it, whenand where, is handled automatically by the device leaving theobserver to focus just on what they have seen or witnessed. Raptorsare a challenge to identify that birdwatchers seem to relish.Novices can assign confidence to their identifications and photoscan be uploaded to enlist help from experts. There are future plansto couple the recording app with an e-guide for African raptors.The application is designed to make recording as simple andintuitive as possible. Extensive testing has been carried out andthe development process has been a very dynamic and iterative onewith a strong focus on the small details which can often beoverlooked. Voice recording permits the user to enter detailedinformation when there is a lot going on and when a user may beunable to type.These additional dimensions really set African Raptor Observationsapart from other mobile applications and will make it the defaultgo-to application for recording raptors across Africa. To find outmore about the project and application please navigate towww.habitatinfo.com/ardb where it is also possible to register andbegin submitting records from your desktop.This project has been designed to empower globally-concernedcitizens to play an active role in monitoring the state of theenvironment. ARDB partners include The Peregrine Fund, CMS (RaptorsMoU), ESRI, EWT Bird of Prey Programme, Birdlife Tunisia (AAO),NiBDaB (Niger Bird DataBase), Tanzanian Bird Atlas, and otherrepresentatives in West Africa & Namibia.
