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To me, birdwatching and technology seem like a perfect match.  It seems that I am not the only one to realize this.  There are many tools available to the tech inclined birder.  Over the last couple of weeks I have joined that group with the purchase of an iPod touch.  Based on my initial experience with it, I have to wonder if the iPod touch could be just about the perfect birding tool.

A Music Player And Much More

The primary reason I got the iPod, at least at the beginning, was to upgrade my 4 year old mp3 player.  But when I was researching the options the touch stood out as a way to do much more than just play music.  With a decent sized screen and wifi I quickly saw the touch as a way to have  a portable computer capable of accessing the internet while on the road (at least wherever there is free wifi).  Then I saw that there were a number of birding applications that could be used on the touch, including birdJam and iBird Explorer.  That was all it took, I decided to get an iPod touch 16 GB (1st Generation).
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Loading It Up

I purchased birdJam and loaded it up on the touch along with a bunch of music and I still had plenty of room left.  So, I decided to get iBird Explorer from the iTunes store (the full version was $19.95) and install it as well.  I now had a comprehensive list of 800+ North American birds along with their songs available to me instantly.  There is some duplication between the two applications when it comes to songs but that’s OK.  I bought iBird more for the pictures and search features than the songs. I’ve had some time to play around with both applications and I’m impressed so far.  I’ll do a more extensive review in a later post once Pam and I have actually used it in the field.  Stay tuned for those…

Accessorizing

I want to protect my investment from scratches, drops, etc.  So I purchased a Marware Sport Grip Backwinder Case for iPod touch 1G (Clear).  There are a ton of other choices as well for protective cases.  At some point I will also want to get an “all in one” case/speaker to take the touch in the field with us.  So far the iMainGo2 Portable iPod Speaker System and Case is the top candidate.  It acts as a protective case as well as a high quality, portable speaker system, all in one compact package.  It has gotten good reviews from other iPod toting birders.

The Future Of Birding

Are devices such as the iPod touch, iPhone, and other compact multi-function electronics the future of birding?   They certainly seem to be making inroads and I think they will only gain in popularity, especially for younger and/or newer birders who aren’t intimidated with technology or set in their birdwatching ways.  There seem to be many advantages to having an electronic directory right in the palm of your hand.  New applications should be coming along soon as well.   For example, iBird Explorer is looking to add observation logging capability that will allow you to upload your bird checklists to your e-bird account.  Only time will tell how these tools are accepted by the birding community but my guess is that the impact will be significant.

As for us, we will report our experiences with our iPod touch in the field as soon as we get some time.

Do you use an iPod or similar device in your birding?  How do you like it?  Tell us about those experiences in the comments.

Since Pam and I started birdwatching a couple of weeks ago we have seen a few different birds.  So far its 24 species for me and 14 for Pam.  That’s not very many at all compared to experienced birdwatchers but it’s a start.  But, being the numbers geek that I am, as soon as I stated writing down the birds I saw I began looking for a way to keep track of them.  Basically I want to know what birds we saw, where we saw them, and when we saw them.

Database Options

I started my search in the same place I look for anything, the internet.  It turns out there are quite a few options for keeping track of birds that we see.   I was looking for something that is easy to use yet complete.  Oh, yeah if it is free or low cost then even better. Here are the most popular, full featured applications I found.  One of these will probably the right one for just about anyone.

Avisys- This is the birding database I had heard of before I began birdwatching.  It has a large following and has been around for years.  My Father uses this and loves it.

Birder’s Diary-This is another birding software that has been around for a while and looks like they have a large user base as well.

Bird Base- Yet another birding database that seems to be very full featured.

Ebird- This is an online database developed by the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology. It is easy to use, gives you lots of options, and best of all it’s FREE!  The other thing I like about it is that the observations I enter into it are added to everyone else’s and used for research.  That’s pretty cool.

My Choice

Well, based on my description, you probably figured which one I chose, Ebird.  It’s easy to use and understand, even as beginners, and it looks like it will meet our needs for quite a while.  If, at some time we move to some other database we should be able to import the records from Ebird.  If you are looking for a record keeping program for the birds you see, give Ebird a try.