thanks Andy and Lorne - no worries - I don't mind stirring the pot
sometimes.
To be honest my first impression of this gadget was that it could become a
great asset for identifying hard-to-find species especially in areas under
threat of development etc. A patch of land near me went under to developers a
while back and I read the part of the impact study report on significant bird
species - there was none to report by the guy who spent 4 hours one
day on a walk around. He didn't include Bush-stone Curlew (nocturnal
caller I know), Golden Whistler, Varied Sitella etc etc. all seen regularly but
often heard more than seen. As I mentioned voice-recognition software is with us
(like it or not) and to be accepted at a satisfactory level it has had
to meet certain criteria. This sort of gadget will get better over
time.
On another matter I recall my mother observing a Regent Honeyeater at Mount
Tamborine (Gold Coast Hinterland) about 20 years ago. Unfortunately for her
there was no WWW or Email forum to shout her find to back then, she had to be
content with telling her family and friends (most who weren't particularly
interested). Aren't we lucky that technology gives us this forum!
cheers
peter
