Pizzey & Knight Digital Edition review

I expect bins and scopes were once thought of as “gadgets”…… On 22 November 2013 14:01, Tony Russell <pratincole08@gmail.com> 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: birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au > [mailto:birding-aus-bounces@lists.vicnet.net.au] 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. > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================