I guess the solution is that if you don't like them, don't use them.
But to claim they lead to "lazy thinking"?????
Cheers and happy birding all - with whatever particular aids your choose to use,
John Tongue
Ulverstone, Tas.
On 22/11/2013, at 3:05 PM, Dave Torr <> wrote:
> I expect bins and scopes were once thought of as "gadgets"......
>
>
> On 22 November 2013 14:01, 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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