AudioMoth field checklist
Use this checklist in lesson 11 and in the field. Print one per deployment. The settings below are the ones GainForest and Oceanus Conservation used in the mangroves of Cagwait, Philippines. Change them to fit your question.
Site: Dates out: to
Lead: Council member who approved:
The question
What does the community want to know? For example: is there more life in the restored mangroves than in the unrestored ones?
Before you leave
- Fresh AA batteries, three per recorder.
- A microSD card per recorder, formatted and empty.
- Latest firmware and the correct time and date set, in the GainForest app or the AudioMoth apps from Open Acoustic Devices.
- Sample rate: 48 kHz is enough for most birds, frogs and insects.
- Schedule: 1 minute recording, 4 minutes sleep, all day, for about two weeks out. Other options: dawn and dusk only, or a narrow band for one kind of frog.
- Short name on masking tape on each recorder, for example the first two and last two characters of its ID. Same name on its card.
- Test each recorder for a few minutes and check that files appear on the card.
- Waterproof case or bag, camouflage cover, thin rope.
In the field
- Only at places marked on the map, never at places the council ruled out.
- Tied to a tree at about chest height or above, microphone clear of leaves.
- In mangroves, above the high-tide line.
- Hard for passers-by to notice.
- Location recorded and a photo of each recorder in place.
- Switched to record and the recording light checked before you walk away.
| Recorder | Place | Latitude | Longitude | Put out by | Collect on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Collecting the cards
- Switch the recorder off before opening it.
- Card labelled with recorder name, site and dates.
- Two copies of the files within two days, in two places.
- Listen to a random hour from each recorder. Note anything unexpected, including voices.
Whose recordings are these?
Who keeps the cards between trips?
Who decides which recordings go online?
Recordings that stay private (voices, places near homes, anything the council names):
Who may ask to listen, and who answers?
Price per minute of recording, if any, set by the council: paid to by
Who walked out to set and collect the recorders, and were they paid?
Next council review on:
Data is Soil · GainForest · www.datasoil.org/handouts/audiomoth-field-checklist