For the Birdwatchers, Twitchers etc.

Chlidonias said:
what? Shazam? SoundHound? Are you hepped up on goofballs again?

If I bought the app I'd then need to buy something to use it on as well!

Wait, what, they have mobile phones now??! Like, without a cord or anything? Technology eh?
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Yes, I myself was amazed at SoundHound. I have no idea how it works, but it is fantastic. I used it just this weekend to identify a song I heard in Target department store and vaguely remembered, which turned out to be 'Right here, right now' by Fat Boy Slim from the late 90s. It identified it in about 3 seconds.

I think you need the phone first to buy the app using said phone. ;)

Mobile phones? Is this the 90s? They are far more than phones now - they are computers that also have the ability to make phone calls. Siri is my new best friend.

I said that I was going to post you my old iPhone 3 and gramps (Hix) bit my head off. It would be like me giving you a Pentium 386 to get the hang of using a computer though, as the phone is out dated. Get yourself a nice new modern phone - they are relatively cheap, and easy to use. You won't regret it, and you could take your birding to the next level.
 
the only bit of that I understood was "Right Here, Right Now" by Fat Boy Slim. Great song, and even greater video.
 
Intel 386, Pentium 3 or something to that effect. It probably had the processing power of NASA during the 60s when Scotty was beaming up people by mixing shiny dust in a glass of water.
 
I seem to have started a storm in a field guide.

The item Birdwatchers Journal appears to be failry sturdy. Yes it's a flip-notebook, but has a piece of elastic to keep it open or closed. There is some info on birding sites in different states and territories in the back cover. The last couple of dozen pages are a checklist of the birds of Australia, with boxes to tick off your lifelist, and for the page number in this journal where you have recorded and entry for this species. I'll be trialling it this weekend, so i'll let you know how I think it goes. I'm not a serious birder, mind you, but currently i make all my notesd in a large A4 spiral book, which is a bit big to carry around all day and even harder to make notes in when driving at 110kmh. This little journal might make it easier.

I might even download the app onto my iPad and give that a try too. If it plays bird calls I might be able to lure birds closer for photographic purposes. Again, will let you know.

First field guide I ever got was Caley's "What Bird is That?" in the 1970's - the only bird book around at the time. Crap pictures. Then I got Graham Pizzey's book, mkuch much better. I've just bought the 9th Edition and it's my Field guide of choice. I have Slater and Simpson & Day, but they are my shelf references. Haven't got Morcombe, but have asked for Jim Flegg's "Photographic Guide to the Birds of Australia" for Christmas.

:p

Hix
 
I've got "What Bird Is That?" as well, but mine is one of the early editions (from the 40s I think, from memory) and I have never tried to use it as a field guide (I just like old natural history books).

Graham Pizzey's 1980 "A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia" was the first proper Australian field guide I got. I don't use it now of course with the better guides now available (including the updated Pizzey and Knight with all new illustrations).
 
Hix, try the lite version for free first and see if you like it.

Also, I tried using my phone to "call" gang gang cockatoos but my phone just was not loud enough. You might need external speakers.
 
I downloaded the Lite version last night - there's not too many species on there I'm likely to encounter sson - only 9 actually. I think I'll splurge and get the full version before I go. Then I can give a thorough review.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
I downloaded the Lite version last night - there's not too many species on there I'm likely to encounter sson - only 9 actually. I think I'll splurge and get the full version before I go. Then I can give a thorough review.

:p

Hix
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:D Oh dear. I was suggesting that you assess the format, illustrations, quality of bird calls, usability etc from the lite version before splurging. But, it is not too expensive so it wouldn't break the bank.

Where are you going by the way?
 
Western Plains Zoo and then on Saturday to Gundabooka National Park outside of Bourke. Driving back to Sydney (10 hours) on Sunday.

From what I could see of the LITE version, the illustrations are adequate, although those in Pizzey and Knight are better. I would prefer more text - it's limited to description and breeding information. Birds can be searched taxonomically or by Common Name (but not by scientific name, which is a bugger). My location will list all the species found in a region, but the regions are enormous (eg. one of the regions occupies the eastern half of NSW, and that's one of the smaller regions).

The bird calls are a good feature, and many species have more than just a single call recorded (eg. New Holland Honeyeater has three different calls). The Compare feature could be helpful - it allows you to have illustrations of two different species displayed at the same time so you can compare the two to see the differences - very helpful with similar looking species. Would be better if the illustrations all had the birds in the same pose, but I s'pose you can't have everything. I forgot, there are also illustrations of nests and eggs for each species.

But the distribution maps! While the outline of Australia is fine, the maps look like they were coloured by a school kid with a new box of coloured pencils. There are different shades and colours used too, which I presume indicates breeding ranges, or winter ranges, but I couldn't find a legend anywhere to explain it. I probably have to buy the book to work that out.

And while I'm grumbling, the michaelmorcombe.com website is rather amatuerish too.

:p

Hix
 
Just to add my 2 cents worth....apart from smaller regional guides which are great if you can get them, I use Trounson "Australian Birds - a concise photographic field guide"...basically because I like the photos and how they are presented. I struggle with illustrations for some reason.
Regarding bird apps, rhere's some really good regional ones around too with calls (e.g. Booderee National Park) but also some controversy about how if played noisily they can "interfere" with nature....
 
We give kids from Western Sydney Ipads with a similar app. We have a competition to see who can spot the most birds and where they see them. They never got many when using a book but with the app they are coming back with atleast ten birds each and sometimes up to forty or more in the hour and a half they spend out in the zoo. Technology like this could be a good way to encourage kids to get back to nature. as weird as that sounds.
 
Hix said:
From what I could see of the LITE version, the illustrations are adequate, although those in Pizzey and Knight are better. I would prefer more text - it's limited to description and breeding information. Birds can be searched taxonomically or by Common Name (but not by scientific name, which is a bugger). My location will list all the species found in a region, but the regions are enormous (eg. one of the regions occupies the eastern half of NSW, and that's one of the smaller regions).

The bird calls are a good feature, and many species have more than just a single call recorded (eg. New Holland Honeyeater has three different calls). The Compare feature could be helpful - it allows you to have illustrations of two different species displayed at the same time so you can compare the two to see the differences - very helpful with similar looking species. Would be better if the illustrations all had the birds in the same pose, but I s'pose you can't have everything. I forgot, there are also illustrations of nests and eggs for each species.

But the distribution maps! While the outline of Australia is fine, the maps look like they were coloured by a school kid with a new box of coloured pencils. There are different shades and colours used too, which I presume indicates breeding ranges, or winter ranges, but I couldn't find a legend anywhere to explain it. I probably have to buy the book to work that out.
Click to expand...
there's a Pizzey and Knight app coming out some time soon, and it will include photos of each species as well as the illustrations.

Not being able to search by scientific name is a bit off! I guess that means they are aiming it at the people not smart enough to learn them (perhaps the people who don't read books!)
 
Nope.............
 
Jarkari said:
We give kids from Western Sydney Ipads with a similar app. We have a competition to see who can spot the most birds and where they see them. They never got many when using a book but with the app they are coming back with atleast ten birds each and sometimes up to forty or more in the hour and a half they spend out in the zoo. Technology like this could be a good way to encourage kids to get back to nature. as weird as that sounds.
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When you say "we"' who do you mean? Also, which app are you referring to?

Hix, it should be a good trip. With your 7 cameras, 4 bird books, and 1 iPad, I think you might be a bit under prepared for your birding adventure, but I am sure that you will survive. :D
 
nanoboy said:
When you say "we"' who do you mean? Also, which app are you referring to?

Hix, it should be a good trip. With your 7 cameras, 4 bird books, and 1 iPad, I think you might be a bit under prepared for your birding adventure, but I am sure that you will survive. :D
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Well. . . Me. At the zoo. The state governnent pays for western sydney kids.to come out and spend the night at the zoo with us.
 
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