From live-streaming rare birds to supporting long-term monitoring of critical species, Axis technology helps create observation without intrusion – and opens a vital connection to the wonders and beauty of the natural world.

Wild conditions, rare wildlife

The Cumbria Wildlife Trust, based in the north of England, is dedicated to protecting and restoring wildlife habitats. One key project in the Trust’s quiver is the restoration of Foulshaw Moss, a large peat bog damaged by post-war tree planting. The area has now been returned to its natural peatland state, though Cumbria Wildlife Trust left one or two dead trees standing – the perfect habitat for the return of the once locally-extinct osprey.

With support from Axis, a remote surveillance solution was put in place to monitor the birds and share their story with the public. There were technical challenges, a lack of power and internet connectivity at the ospreys’ nest site and harsh exposed conditions primary amongst them. But by laying over 2.5 kilometres of cable and employing weather-resistant Axis hardware, the team was able to install a mix of PTZ and fixed cameras for observation and public engagement.

Running third-party application Camstreamer directly on the camera, the cameras now livestream to the Trust’s website and Youtube, enabling researchers and viewers alike to track osprey behaviour from egg laying to fledging, generating important ecological data and engaging thousands of viewers.

Making the inaccessible accessible

While Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s monitoring project is partly designed to keep visitor disturbance to a minimum for the nesting birds, the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales had little option but to monitor the island of Skomer from afar. Treacherous terrain and restricted access means it is very challenging for some to visit the island’s huge and delightful population of puffins and Manx shearwaters, making camera connectivity a critical part of the island’s accessibility.

Axis partner and rural broadband expert Dragon WiFi built an innovative solution to connect an Axis Q6315-LE PTZ camera and a P14-series bullet camera from the off-grid island to the mainland, sending footage over two miles through a bandwidth-limited wireless link – but thanks to the compression technology of Axis Zipstream, that footage arrives at Skomer’s visitor centre in high quality. The Trust’s cameras now allow it to study the birds at close quarters, while also livestreaming the island’s wildlife to the screens of people across the world which is important for those that might not be able to visit in person.