For an ecologist, the ears and eyes in the field are the tools to obtain information about the life of plants and animals. Today, innovative techniques offer the possibility of collecting detailed data without distortion and at a great distance, and to record data digitally and store it securely. Examples include high resolution cameras, GPS transmitters, data loggers and automatic recording of bats. New techniques make it feasible to exchange data over long distances with low energy consumption (LoRaWAN). We invest in these techniques for smart data collection and increasing our ecological knowledge.