Birdpedia.com - A birdos data base

["Trevor & Hazel Cowie" <>]

To one and all,

As we are all aware there is no hot line within Australia. There are of course several local areas which look after each other such as the Bird line Vic, which is changing hands with an indication of charges sooner or later, with this in mind I challenged Martyn Price of Birdpedia.com to fill the gap and link into his birding data facility which he has developed and any person may subscribe to (free of any charges). I might add that the site does not carry any ADS and is maintained by Martyn a keen birdo and a professional Data Base Programmer, who listens to peoples ideas and incorporates them that have merit. To cut to the chase Martyn has now developed a hot line for all to use. It is we the birdos who enter the info and all registered subscribers if they elect to do so will be automatically and immediately notified by email of the event. This is only an add on to its current function which also includes the following:

Bird lists covering various areas defined by a map. Also lists for numerous Parks / locations (currently limited to South Australia as this is where Martyn is based), but provided that somebody enters the details and we can all do it. This facility is grouped by country and can be used by every country in the world (currently 17 countries are on line at this time) however only Australia & UK have extensive infomation at this stage.

Australian info will improve when you all out there have a look, subscibe/contribute and use. Now, back to other current features.

We can also add notices of upcoming events, lectures, twitchathons, meetings and bird outings etc which will also be sent immediately to all subscribers should they elect it, ie by state or Australia wide, as well as a reminder two days prior to the event. And as well as the hot line you can send in a notification of a specific species (the format is very detailed but is done that way so that the information can be forwarded to birding authorities if requested). Subscribers can sign up to be notified of sightings for specific species in a similar manner although special permission is required to be notified of endangered or vulnerable species.

Subscribers can also contribute articles that may be of interest to others. There is even a 'What Bird is That?' feature to test our skills at identification from photgraphs. Martyn advises me that he is always looking for high quality images to illustrate species and parks / habitats so contact him if you would like to contribute (look for the contact link on main page).

Martyn is also working on an open forum concept, which many of you may find of interest and I can ensure you that any additional ideas would be welcomed for consideration.

Really have a look and make up your own mind. This could become a very useful resource if we help by using and hopefully contributing. I must say that I receive no monetary benefits from Birdpedia, but do believe it has a lot to offer all of us. Perhaps the only real problem is that there is no verification of data fed in. It is up to us all to question any entry considered doubtful.

Regards to all

Trevor Cowie