Is anyone using this software for bird lists, on their Windows Mobile Phone (aka WM5 or WM6 or PPC)? http://home.surewest.net/bruwebb/Pocket-PC.htm Pocket Bird Recorder Supposedly it can upload to your home computer, and then transfer to the www.ebird.org (Cornell) web site. Liking the technology, but just wondering if people have tried it and had any problems.

I don't use windows mobile phone, but my PDA conked out the other day and I had to move into the 21st Century and get an iPhone. There is a neat app called iBird, that is basically an electronic field guide. Right now I could only get the backyard version, but I'm told that there will be the full version soon. This got me thinking that mobile phones with their embedded GPS and mini computer capabilities could be a tremendous tool for things like eBird and bird atlasing and monitoring. The trick would be to figure out an efficient way to input the data in the field. You could even have direct input in the field towards a breeding bird atlas project or do an instant point count or spot map on the phone. Anyone have any thoughts on how one could develop an application that would allow for easy data entry in the field that is tied to your current location on the GPS and in real time? Maybe voice recognition, but that technology is still kind of buggy for error-free data entry. Any other cool birding related apps that people use? I was able to find a free tide database and a weather channel portal and a moon phase clock, but I think there is a lot of potential to use these things to improve birding, aside from the ability to email key sightings from the field. Hopefully we can start working on a new atlas for Connecticut soon and if we can figure out how to do it, those with mobile phone/computers could utilize the latest technology to contribute to a really innovative effort. Patrick Comins Audubon Connecticut.

Patrick (repeated to CTBIRDS) - the POCKET BIRD RECORDER does exactly what you are asking to do in software. It has a GPS link to bookmark the location as recorded in your phones GPS (my Sprint Mogul phone has a GPS built in - so it can do this), and then uploads to EBIRD.ORG later. Unfortunately it only works for WINDOWS MOBILE phones right now, not the IPHONE that you have. Maybe they will have an IPHONE version soon. I just like that it has an EBIRD.ORG upload tool. On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 8:21 AM, Kevin Jensen <ktjensen@gmail.com> wrote: > Is anyone using this software for bird lists, on their Windows Mobile > Phone (aka WM5 or WM6 or PPC)? > > http://home.surewest.net/bruwebb/Pocket-PC.htm Pocket Bird Recorder > > Supposedly it can upload to your home computer, and then transfer to > the www.ebird.org (Cornell) web site. Liking the technology, but just > wondering if people have tried it and had any problems. >

Hi Patrick, all, I have an iPhone and absolutely love it...possibly the ultimate birder's phone. I'm sure there are other competitors out there that offer similar features, but here is what I have found so far for the iPhone: - GPS synched to Google Maps; this is a great feature but lacks audio, so you need to keep looking at the phone to see when you have to make your next turn. There's always a chance this will be included in an upgrade. - Several cool weather apps/websites including: --- The Weather Channel for the iPhone --- The Weather Underground for the iPhone --- iWeathr, which provides the Doppler radar images we use to watch nocturnal migration! - TideApp; tide info for many ports including predicted tide height and sunrise/sunset - of couse email access so one can check the day's sightings while out in the field (conversely one can report rarities from the field) - internet access, in case you don't recieve individual CTBird posts and want to check the archives via birdingonthe.net - AroundMe and Yelp; two apps that use the GPS feature to find restaurants, motels, gas stations, etc that are around you - Google Maps (with satellite view option) and Google Earth, say if you're out looking for a Barnacle Goose but it's not in the field it was originally reported from...so you want to locate other fields or lakes nearby that might be holding the goose....just look at your phone! - iPod with small speaker; I uploaded my Stokes audio CDs to my phone and can pull up any species in a few seconds, then play the song through the speaker in hopes of calling in a bird. This speaker is not very loud, but capable of more than you'd think. You can (and should) run to RadioShack and pick up a little set of folding speakers to plug into the headphones jack to use in the field if you need it (just like birders do with CD Players or original iPods) - general internet access, in case you want to Google something or check sports scores..... I have not yet downloaded iBird because the current version appears to be focused on just backyard birds, so I'll be waiting for the upgrade. But it does claim to offer: - costs $5 - Plays songs and calls of certain species; they claim loud enough to call in a bird - Both illustrations and photographs of 144 species (so, it's very limited to backyard birds) - Full color range maps Also, the PLUS version is supposedly on its way very soon with the following new features: - 891 species - eBird sightings log - quizzes - I suspect it will cost more than just 5 bucks, but who knows Here's an example of how my phone has come in handy while birding. Last month I was at Lighthouse Pt when I checked my email and saw a report of a Barnacle Goose in Wallingford. I plugged the street name into the GPS and immediately had directions. When I got to the lake, the bird was not there, so I used the satellite view on Google Maps to locate nearby farm fields and reservoirs to check. I was also able to provide updates on the Slaty-backed Gull on the day it was found, right from the landfill. So it's a lot more than just a phone. It's great to have that sort of information at your fingertips for whenever you need it. The potential for the App Store is fantastic. I can't wait to see what other folks come up with. Nick Bonomo Orange, CT On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 8:49 AM, COMINS, Patrick <PCOMINS@audubon.org> wrote: > I don't use windows mobile phone, but my PDA conked out the other day and I > had to move into the 21st Century and get an iPhone. There is a neat app > called iBird, that is basically an electronic field guide. Right now I > could only get the backyard version, but I'm told that there will be the > full version soon. > > This got me thinking that mobile phones with their embedded GPS and mini > computer capabilities could be a tremendous tool for things like eBird and > bird atlasing and monitoring. The trick would be to figure out an efficient > way to input the data in the field. > > You could even have direct input in the field towards a breeding bird atlas > project or do an instant point count or spot map on the phone. Anyone have > any thoughts on how one could develop an application that would allow for > easy data entry in the field that is tied to your current location on the > GPS and in real time? Maybe voice recognition, but that technology is > still kind of buggy for error-free data entry. Any other cool birding > related apps that people use? I was able to find a free tide database and a > weather channel portal and a moon phase clock, but I think there is a lot of > potential to use these things to improve birding, aside from the ability to > email key sightings from the field. > > Hopefully we can start working on a new atlas for Connecticut soon and if > we can figure out how to do it, those with mobile phone/computers could > utilize the latest technology to contribute to a really innovative effort. > > Patrick Comins > Audubon Connecticut. > > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) > for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit > http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org >

Hi Folks What is wrong with a simple notepad and pencil? I use several color pencils (from olden days, works in all weather, and better for the environment). By using BBL Codes one can pack a lot of information on a little scrap of paper including contextual notes. I realize it is old school, but then again I'm old. Dennis Varza Fairfield On Dec 6, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Nick Bonomo wrote: > Hi Patrick, all, > > I have an iPhone and absolutely love it...possibly the ultimate > birder's > phone. I'm sure there are other competitors out there that offer > similar > features, but here is what I have found so far for the iPhone: > > - GPS synched to Google Maps; this is a great feature but lacks > audio, so > you need to keep looking at the phone to see when you have to make > your next > turn. There's always a chance this will be included in an upgrade. > - Several cool weather apps/websites including: > --- The Weather Channel for the iPhone > --- The Weather Underground for the iPhone > --- iWeathr, which provides the Doppler radar images we use > to watch > nocturnal migration! > - TideApp; tide info for many ports including predicted tide > height and > sunrise/sunset > - of couse email access so one can check the day's sightings while > out in > the field (conversely one can report rarities from the field) > - internet access, in case you don't recieve individual CTBird > posts and > want to check the archives via birdingonthe.net > - AroundMe and Yelp; two apps that use the GPS feature to find > restaurants, > motels, gas stations, etc that are around you > - Google Maps (with satellite view option) and Google Earth, say > if you're > out looking for a Barnacle Goose but it's not in the field it was > originally > reported from...so you want to locate other fields or lakes nearby > that > might be holding the goose....just look at your phone! > - iPod with small speaker; I uploaded my Stokes audio CDs to my > phone and > can pull up any species in a few seconds, then play the song > through the > speaker in hopes of calling in a bird. This speaker is not very > loud, but > capable of more than you'd think. You can (and should) run to > RadioShack and > pick up a little set of folding speakers to plug into the > headphones jack to > use in the field if you need it (just like birders do with CD > Players or > original iPods) > - general internet access, in case you want to Google something or > check > sports scores..... > > I have not yet downloaded iBird because the current version appears > to be > focused on just backyard birds, so I'll be waiting for the upgrade. > But it > does claim to offer: > - costs $5 > - Plays songs and calls of certain species; they claim loud enough > to call > in a bird > - Both illustrations and photographs of 144 species (so, it's very > limited > to backyard birds) > - Full color range maps > Also, the PLUS version is supposedly on its way very soon with the > following new features: > - 891 species > - eBird sightings log > - quizzes > - I suspect it will cost more than just 5 bucks, but who knows > > Here's an example of how my phone has come in handy while birding. > Last > month I was at Lighthouse Pt when I checked my email and saw a > report of a > Barnacle Goose in Wallingford. I plugged the street name into the > GPS and > immediately had directions. When I got to the lake, the bird was > not there, > so I used the satellite view on Google Maps to locate nearby farm > fields and > reservoirs to check. > > I was also able to provide updates on the Slaty-backed Gull on the > day it > was found, right from the landfill. > > So it's a lot more than just a phone. It's great to have that sort of > information at your fingertips for whenever you need it. The > potential for > the App Store is fantastic. I can't wait to see what other folks > come up > with. > > Nick Bonomo > Orange, CT > > > On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 8:49 AM, COMINS, Patrick > <PCOMINS@audubon.org> wrote: > >> I don't use windows mobile phone, but my PDA conked out the other >> day and I >> had to move into the 21st Century and get an iPhone. There is a >> neat app >> called iBird, that is basically an electronic field guide. Right >> now I >> could only get the backyard version, but I'm told that there will >> be the >> full version soon. >> >> This got me thinking that mobile phones with their embedded GPS >> and mini >> computer capabilities could be a tremendous tool for things like >> eBird and >> bird atlasing and monitoring. The trick would be to figure out an >> efficient >> way to input the data in the field. >> >> You could even have direct input in the field towards a breeding >> bird atlas >> project or do an instant point count or spot map on the phone. >> Anyone have >> any thoughts on how one could develop an application that would >> allow for >> easy data entry in the field that is tied to your current location >> on the >> GPS and in real time? Maybe voice recognition, but that >> technology is >> still kind of buggy for error-free data entry. Any other cool >> birding >> related apps that people use? I was able to find a free tide >> database and a >> weather channel portal and a moon phase clock, but I think there >> is a lot of >> potential to use these things to improve birding, aside from the >> ability to >> email key sightings from the field. >> >> Hopefully we can start working on a new atlas for Connecticut soon >> and if >> we can figure out how to do it, those with mobile phone/computers >> could >> utilize the latest technology to contribute to a really innovative >> effort. >> >> Patrick Comins >> Audubon Connecticut. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological >> Association (COA) >> for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. >> For subscription information visit >> http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ >> ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org >> > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association > (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/ > mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org

Because paper notes can get lost, burned in fires etc...if it is in eBird it is automatically backed up offsite (multiple times) and also and perhaps more importantly can be used by others trying to better understand bird distribution/trends. There are reams of paper records in filing cabinets all over the state and not having them in a format that can be imported to ArcView and other geodatabases makes it difficult for those data to be utilized in modern scientific analysis efforts. It also makes it harder to ensure proper georeferencing. When we embark on the next generation bird atlas, it is likely that we will be using an online electronic interface and if we can have real time data collection it will be one less step for people to forget to do or to have transcription errors, at least for those that have the proper widgets. You should try eBird sometime. You could do some really cool stuff with all of the data you collect. Patrick Comins Audubon CT

Thanks Nick for your rundown. I just got word from Donna Rose Smith that iBird plus is now available from the app store or iTunes as of today. $19.95 or so. Patrick Comins Meriden

One other thing on the iPhone for birders. It is not without faults. For instance: - most of these functions are entirely dependent on having cell reception at the time; if you're in a dead zone, you're out of luck - lacks the ability to Cut and Paste for whatever reason (hopefully will be added in a future software update) I'm not familiar with the competition, so I don't know how others compare. Nick Bonomo Orange, CT On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 9:08 AM, Kevin Jensen <ktjensen@gmail.com> wrote: > Patrick (repeated to CTBIRDS) - the POCKET BIRD RECORDER does exactly > what you are asking to > do in software. It has a GPS link to bookmark the location as > recorded in your phones GPS (my Sprint Mogul phone has a GPS built in > - so it can do this), and then uploads to EBIRD.ORG later. > Unfortunately it only works for WINDOWS MOBILE phones right now, not > the IPHONE that you have. Maybe they will have an IPHONE version > soon. I just like that it has an EBIRD.ORG upload tool. > > On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 8:21 AM, Kevin Jensen <ktjensen@gmail.com> wrote: > > Is anyone using this software for bird lists, on their Windows Mobile > > Phone (aka WM5 or WM6 or PPC)? > > > > http://home.surewest.net/bruwebb/Pocket-PC.htm Pocket Bird Recorder > > > > Supposedly it can upload to your home computer, and then transfer to > > the www.ebird.org (Cornell) web site. Liking the technology, but just > > wondering if people have tried it and had any problems. > > > > _______________________________________________ > This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) > for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. > For subscription information visit > http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org >