BirdNET-Pi: Using AI to identify Birds from their Songs

My wife and I are volunteers for WIRES, Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation. Originally we got involved because we liked the idea of caring for the various fluffy marsupials that frequent the Aussie bush. Where we live this turns out to be mostly Brushtail and Ringtail (Figures 1 and 2) possums.

Figure 1. Orphan Ringtail Possum

There is the odd Koala and Scrub Wallaby, but these are quickly grabbed by other members. While the baby possums are cute, they are also high maintenance! They require frequent feeding and the very young ones need assistance to go to the toilet. When in the pouch, the mother possum licks the joeys undercarriage to encourage them to pee and poo. Thankfully you can simulate this with a warm damp cloth and you don’t need to lick your possums.

Figure 2. Ringtail joey feeding

When the possums are weaned, you need to collect a significant amount of native leaves and flowers, to feed them every day. Feeding them fruit will at best give them diarrhoea and dehydration, and at worst will kill them — don’t do this!