> Gadgets are mostly unnecessary and just lead to lazy thinking.
Oh, I don't think that most of us need gadgets for that ;-)
On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 2:01 PM, Tony Russell <>wrote:
> Well said David, you sort of agree with most of my own thoughts. I think
> that mostly the old ways of birding are still the best. Nothing like
> getting
> out there and learning from others. Gadgets are mostly unnecessary and just
> lead to lazy thinking. All one needs are a scope, binoculars , and a field
> guide (book).
> T.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of David Adams
> Sent: Friday, 22 November 2013 12:52 PM
> To: Birding-Aus
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Pizzey & Knight Digital Edition review
>
> > I personally don't use any of these electronic gadgets for bird IDs,
> > in
> fact
> > I wouldn't know how to switch one on, let alone cart the thing around
> > with me. Isn't it better to really get to know your birds?, then
> > these thingamajigs are not needed. Having to carry binoculars is bad
> > enough as
> it is.
>
> Gadgets aren't for everyone but one more great tool for getting to really
> know your birds. Below are a list of good ways that I've tried, use
> regularly, seen others do or heard about:
>
> * Put a seed tray near your window and watch what comes in closely. (How so
> many of us first saw birds as children, I'd assume.)
>
> * Go out with binoculars and watch birds from a hide, shore, etc.
>
> * Go out with a guide or group and learn from others. I can't think of
> anything more effective.
>
> * Take others out and show them what you know.
>
> * Write about what you know, meaning field notes on behavior and field
> identification. I don't learn much from saying "I saw a Square-tailed Kite
> today" but I would from writing up how I would try and distinguish a Little
> Eagle from a Whistling Kite.
>
> * Sketch or paint what you see! Probably the best technique of all for
> individual study...I'm sadly wretched at it. Even still, just making the
> effort to transcribe visual details visually can be a real help in
> improving
> your "seeing".
>
> * Buy better optics ;-) Man, I wish I'd gotten good binoculars sooner.
>
> * Use a camera to snap pictures and then go home and study the results.
> I've gotten a lot from this:
>
> -- It's very helpful for harder groups as you can often narrow down
> something like a pair of peeps to one of 2-4 species. From there you can
> study the guides and figure out what field marks are relevant for the next
> time.
>
> -- Huh. I. Could. Have. Sworn. It. Had. Two. *White*. Wing-bars. And. A.
> *Yellow*. Bill. Yeah, a picture can keep you honest. A fish-watching friend
> said that with the fishes, it is incredibly easy to remember colors in
> reverse - she pops up to the surface and narrates a description to try and
> get it fixed in her head.
>
> * Build a database and collect images, sounds and text about the birds. I
> don't think this technique is broadly useful but since I'm a programmer, I
> end up putting a lot of time into this several times a year. (Particularly
> before a trip to a new place.) Apart from helping to learn species, it's
> helped me *enormously* learning larger taxonomic and biogeographical
> relationships. Anyone can make themselves a series of folders to collect
> info about a species, if they like that sort of thing.
>
> * Go out into the field and wait until you can match sounds to birds. (I'm
> really not great at calls..but I slowly get better.)
>
> * Sonograms...or so I'm told...I've managed to get a copy of "The Sound
> Approach to Birding" but it's still sitting on the desk.
>
> * Get and use an app. Why not? When I first saw a good birding app, I
> realized they're the future. They're better than paper:
>
> -- Integrated sounds.
>
> -- Plates *and* photographs. I've never loved an all-photo paper guide but
> I
> love my apps with pictures.
>
> -- Off-line access. (Well, paper has that...)
>
> -- A structured information space. A lot of phone/tablet apps are, well,
> sort of pointless but not apps that create a nice, tight information space.
> With a birding app, you can move through data hierarchically, laterally
> (like similar species or groups of related birds), geographically (if the
> app has the data), or non-sequentially (search for a bird.)
>
> -- Particularly useful when you travel to a new country where you don't
> know
> the birds. You can study up before you arrive and have a good idea about
> calls of common birds and what various groups look like, what habitat they
> prefer, etc. Yeah, apps are great for this...paper guides too.
>
> There are a few advantages to paper guides that are hard to beat:
>
> -- No batteries.
> -- Not so expensive.
> -- I find it easier to flip through a paper guide somehow. Particularly for
> a country where I don't already know the birds. There's something
> hard-to-replace about feeling "wow, 16 plates for raptors!" that just
> doesn't come across electronically.
>
> I'm hoping to get the new iPad Mini because I suspect that it is the
> ultimate birding gadget. I still buy, use and carry paper guides...but I'm
> reluctant to travel anywhere that doesn't have an electronic guide. And, I
> carry fewer paper guides than I used to.
>
> With all of that said, to each their own. If you find electronic guides
> useful, great. If not, that's fine too. Also, no all electronic guides are
> created equal any more than paper guides are of identical quality.
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