Song Sleuth

[David Stowe Photography <>]

Thank you Hugo and Peter
I personally am not an accomplished birder and still have a lot too learn. My ability to recognise bird calls is hindered by moderate hearing loss in the high frequencies making thornbills etc almost impossible to hear, let alone identify!
I can understand where the problems lie with this sort of thing but for me it would be incredibly useful, especially while learning. Some people are supernatural in their ability to recognise calls but others like myself feel totally frustrated in their inability.

Cheers
David Stowe
Carlingford, NSW


On 22/6/05 11:41 PM, "Hugo Phillipps" <> wrote:

Hi everybody -
 
I see no reason in principle why such a device shouldn't be able to work well, if it has a comprehensive library of bird calls to compare, and after any initial bugs have been eliminated.  It's been done for years with microbats.  Of course birdsong is much more complex than the echolocation calls of bats, and there are potential problems with mimicry and regional dialects, but I can easily imagine that 'call identifiers' - at half the price and a third the weight of the early example cited - will be available for Australian birds within five years.  I don't see them as a threat in any way.  They may make bird surveys somewhat simpler, although they can only complement visual ID - not replace it.  Birders with hearing difficulties may welcome them - and not everyone is adept at learning to recognise calls.  After, all, you don't have to use them if they offend your purist sensibilities.
 
And thanks to Peter for bringing this to our notice.
 
Cheers,
Hugo

Hugo Phillipps
Queenscliff, Vic

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