The SM5BAT: Built to Cover More

Why the SM5BAT will become the recorder ecologists reach for

By Bianca Stinson, General Manager, Faunatech — a Wildlife Acoustics company

I still remember the privilege of joining a team of ecologists and bird enthusiasts on a beautiful (and frosty!) blue-sky morning in Wanaka, New Zealand. We were setting up Mini 2 acoustic recorders to capture the sounds of crakes, bitterns, and other species to identify which are present in the area. Everything went smoothly, but on the drive back, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the units we had left out there were actually recording anything at all.

Anyone who has done fieldwork knows what that feels like. It doesn’t necessarily stem from the equipment’s reliability or capabilities (those factors have already been considered)—it’s about what’s riding on the deployment. Detecting a species (or not) with confidence can determine whether on-ground management actions go ahead.
 

That feeling is where a lot of my thinking about deployment comes from. After years of working to support the wonderful ecologists who use our gear, I've come to believe the best monitoring outcomes rarely hinge on a single kit item. Rather, they hinge on how you think about deployment in the first place, that is by designing the survey around the question you actually need answered, rather than shrinking the question to fit whatever's in the field kit that day.

That's the lens I'd encourage anyone to bring to the Wildlife Acoustics SM5BAT recorder. On paper it's a bat and bird recorder. In practice, I think of it as a small acoustic platform that can collect more complex datasets than ever before.

Take a wind farm assessment. Instead of running separate recorders for birds and bats, you can deploy a single SM5BAT at the base of the met mast, recording birds at ground level, and cable an ultrasonic microphone or two up the mast to monitor bats at height—all at once, from that one unit.

A woodland regeneration project is another good example. You might cable an acoustic microphone out into the tree line to listen for koalas, while the SM5BAT's ultrasonic channels record bats at the same time—two taxa from a single deployment, with no additional recorder.
 

Caves work on the same principle again, which matters a lot for mining-related surveys. Positioning the recorder outside of the roost, plus ultrasonic microphones—one cabled to the entrance and a second inside—and you get emergence data and in-roost activity while minimising disturbance with fewer trips into the cave.

What I like about all three examples is the same thing: more channels, more choice. Fewer recorders to buy, carry, and maintain, and ultimately a less complicated day in the field.

And while I've said a lot about cabling mics, the SM5BAT's built-in, flush-mounted acoustic mic is a feature researchers really rate as well. As our in-house ecologist, Dr. Lisa Cawthen, points out, it's a particular advantage with birds and other wildlife that treat a stub mic's wind sock as prime nesting material (nothing external for them to pick at!).
 

Power and access that adapt to your site, not the other way around

The practical details matter more than a spec sheet usually lets on, so I'll say it plainly: the SM5BAT and its acoustic sibling, the SM5, run on whatever power setup suits the job.

This includes rechargeable XTAR 18650 lithium-ion cells, D cells, or an external power supply such as our solar Power Kit. Of course, you can always tap into another existing power source already available on site. You choose the supply to match the deployment, whether it’s short or long, and weight can be managed through the flexible power options as well.

And it is future-proofed. From 2027, an expansion port will support cellular remote access, meaning you'll be able to check on a recorder, adjust settings, update firmware, and even look over samples of the data it's collecting, without another drive out to site. (If you've ever made that long trip back wondering whether the unit was even switched on, you'll know exactly what I mean. I call that "recorder anxiety,” and this is the fix for it.)
 

Tell me about your next survey

If you're planning a bat, bird, koala, frog, or multi-species survey and want to talk through how the SM5 range can fit your project, email me directly; I'm happy to think it through with you. Or, have a look at our SM5BAT external features video as a start.

We also regularly run free virtual training courses, which are in-depth live interactive sessions where you can get real-time answers tailored to your own survey and project needs by our in-house ecologists.