Technology is taking the rising trend of citizen science to new heights with scores of science-savvy kids signing up to help document Australian species and they are bringing a range of skills that could be game-changing.

Eight-year-old Brisbane boy Griffin Chong and 10-year-old Austin McConville from Melbourne are topping the scoreboard.

The pair are keen players on an online app that aims to make science fun while adding to a national database of Australian species.

It is one of a rising number of online projects and websites that are making science more accessible.

"You get to learn more animals and birds and insects," Austin said.

The keen animal spotters take and upload photos and then identify their finds and those made by others.

They also compete with other players, many of them adults.

Out of 5,000 players, Griffin is rated sixth at identifying species and Austin is the number one bird identifier.

"I just see the scientific name lots and then one day I just remember it," Griffin said.

Jacki Liddle said her son Griffin had had an interest in science and animals from an early age.

"He's just got that time and enthusiasm that kids can have," she said.

"If they have a way of making a little bit more fun or putting a few more facts behind it, then I think we can sustain that interest and that's got to be a good thing."

Kids are 'sponges for information'

Austin's father Andrew McConville said his son was a third-generation bird-watcher, but while animal spotting had long been a family activity for them, he had been impressed by the contribution children could make to science through the new platforms.

"They're naturally curious and just sponges for information," he said.

"Having thousands, if not millions of kids out there with their keen eyes, it's a great resource — the amount of extra data that's possible if kids get involved is fantastic."

Austin McConville looks up a species in his bird book. ( Supplied: McConville family )

Paul Flemons, who heads digital collections and citizen science for the Australian Museum, said there had always been interest in citizen science.

He said leaps in technology and apps and platforms like e-Bird, iNaturalist, Australasian Fishes and DigiVol were making it easy for people to get involved, especially kids.

Last year, 50,000 people took part in a national online project called Wildlife Spotter, launched by the ABC and one-quarter of them were children.

"They're great platforms for kids to become part of the citizen science community and people feel like they're making a difference," he said.

New knowledge about distribution of species

David Haynes from QuestaGame said programs such as his company's online app were delivering results for science.

"A young player discovered a black-faced monarch bird that was not in a region at all where it was expected to be and it's a sighting like that which gives us new knowledge about the distribution of species," he said.

The information is proving vital to sites such as the CSIRO's Atlas of Living Australia that is used by scientists like entomologist Dr Bryan Lessard.

"I recently discovered a new species just by looking at the data uploaded online and this was from a record posted on QuestaGame," he said.

"I now know exactly where this new species occurs so I can go out into the field and study it and bring it back to the Australian National Insect Collection."

Budding ornithologist 10-year-old Austin McConville sneaking up for a shot. ( Supplied: McConville family )

Australian National University evolution ecologist Professor Craig Moritz said there were other benefits too.

"One of the really cool things about citizen science is it actually gets kids out in the real world getting interested in out biodiversity, that's a huge plus," he said.

"The other side of it is generating information that can then be interpreted to understand how that biodiversity is changing."

And possibly a whole new variety of researchers.

"Right now I would like to be an ornithologist," Austin said.

"Scientist!" Griffin Chong added of his future plans.