FARMBIRD is an Interreg North-West Europe project running until 2029, bringing together eleven partners from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Ireland. The total project budget amounts to €4.2 million, of which €2.5 million is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg North-West Europe programme.

Across North-West Europe, farmland birds—including wading birds and meadow birds—are in decline due to agricultural intensification, increasing predation, habitat degradation, and the limited effectiveness of existing management approaches. At the same time, there is increasing pressure to align biodiversity conservation with productive agricultural systems.

A central challenge lies in developing monitoring systems that are both scalable and ecologically informative, capturing not only bird populations but also the broader processes that shape them.

What does FARMBIRD do?

FARMBIRD develops and tests a high-tech monitoring system for farmland, wading, and meadow birds, with the aim of improving population monitoring, strengthening the evidence base for agri-environmental management, and enabling targeted habitat improvements.

The project focuses on characteristic species of open agricultural landscapes such as the Black-tailed godwit, Northern lapwing, Eurasian oystercatcher, and Common redshank, while explicitly incorporating predator dynamics as a key factor influencing breeding success.

Approach

At the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, we focus on the development and integration of AI-driven methods for ecological monitoring. This includes bird acoustic monitoring, remote sensing-based habitat analysis, and predator re-identification using advanced computer vision techniques. A particular emphasis lies on linking these components to better understand interactions between predators, habitat structure, and bird populations.

Across the project, acoustic sensors, camera systems, drones, and automated data workflows are combined to generate consistent, large-scale monitoring data. These outputs are directly linked to management measures, enabling a clearer assessment of conservation effectiveness under real-world conditions.

Pilot regions serve as testing grounds where farmers, volunteers, researchers, and policymakers work together to integrate these technologies into existing management systems. Complementary training, tool development, and structured knowledge exchange ensure that approaches developed within FARMBIRD are transferable across regions.

Partners

Provincie Fryslân (Lead Partner)

Bond Friese Vogelwachten

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

BoerenNatuur Vlaanderen

Vlaamse Landmaatschappij

Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek

Regionaal Landschap Meetjesland & Leievallei

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

EFREI Paris

Office Français de la Biodiversité

Avondhu Blackwater Partnership CLG