Madrid has installed 15 artificial intelligence sensors across Madrid Río and Valdebebas-Felipe VI Forest Park to monitor the city’s biodiversity continuously. Operating since July, the system identifies bird and bat species by analyzing their calls and ultrasonic signals, giving researchers a detailed, real-time picture of urban wildlife activity.
City delegate for Urbanism, Environment and Mobility Borja Carabante presented the initiative, which aims to fill gaps in traditional wildlife surveys. Rather than rely solely on periodic manual counts, the sensors collect uninterrupted data, helping authorities detect shifts in species presence and behavior throughout the day and across seasons. The information is expected to guide future conservation and park-management decisions.
Seven sensors are installed in Madrid Río, a heavily used urban park, while eight are positioned in the more natural, expansive Valdebebas-Felipe VI. The contrasting environments were chosen to compare how wildlife adapts to different urban pressures. Early data show a marked gap: Madrid Río recorded 66 bird species and 13 bat species, while Valdebebas registered 103 bird species and 23 bat species, with far more observations in the forested area.
The birds detected most often include the magpie, European serin, goldfinch, and swift, all found in both parks. The Nathusius' pipistrelle bat was also identified at both sites. Sensors have picked up rarer species too, including the kingfisher in Valdebebas and a peregrine falcon near Madrid Río, though officials say it is too early to draw firm conclusions from the initial results.
The technology is especially useful for monitoring bats, whose nocturnal habits make them difficult to study with conventional methods. Researchers often had to capture bats to identify them. AI sensors can now recognize their ultrasonic calls without disturbing the animals, reducing the need for invasive methods and limiting the impact on their natural behavior.
Each observation is automatically logged with its time, date, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. Researchers can use these details to compare species activity with environmental conditions and track seasonal trends. All data flow into a digital platform that maps biodiversity patterns with graphs, statistical tables, and heat maps, providing a changing overview of wildlife in both parks.
Even with the technological advance, traditional fieldwork remains impressive. Experts continue to observe wildlife directly to validate and refine the automated data. The city’s basic aim is to use this information to guide practical conservation measures. If a nesting species is detected, for example, maintenance work can be rescheduled to avoid disrupting breeding. The system also helps track population shifts and invasive species, making tasks that once required labor-intensive surveys more efficient.
Madrid’s approach reflects a wider shift in urban ecology, with cities increasingly turning to technology for environmental management. The city plans to maintain the current sensor network and extend it to other green spaces. The system could also be adapted to monitor amphibians, reptiles, and mammals such as foxes, which live in Valdebebas.
Madrid’s sensor project offers one example of how local governments are using technology to address complex urban challenges. Other European responses to environmental issues include the rapid deployment of emergency aid in Ceuta, as detailed in recent reports on cross-border cooperation.
Madrid Río is a linear park along the Manzanares River, popular with residents for recreation and sports. Valdebebas-Felipe VI is a large forested area on the city’s outskirts, designed to expand urban green space and biodiversity. The city’s investment in AI-driven monitoring forms part of a broader effort to balance urban development with environmental stewardship, a challenge many European capitals face as populations grow and the climate changes.
