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A new App for Birding (1 Viewer)

T

trohani

New member
Hi,
we have developed a new app for bird watching (identifying birds through their song) in the field. It's not yet published, mainly because we want to add other tools in it.

I have a few questions for you guys. Since you are professional bird watchers.

• what do you expect from a bird application?
• do you have smart phones? and will you consider getting one for this app?
•*what are the other features and things that you currently use in your bird watching tours?
• we want to consolidate everything in one. So you can have everything on your smart phone. If you can list any functionality, wish list items that you have in mind, it would be great.

Thanks!
T
 
My perfect birding app would combine the illustrations and descriptions of a decent guidebook, plus audio of the described calls, not just the song but flight calls etc. Then to each bird have a record section to add time, date, place, description for sightings. And it could generate user defined lists based on locations dates etc.

And cross platform, iOs, Android, Windows Phone, plus Windows PC, Linux and Mac.

And free!!!!!
 
Mono said:
My perfect birding app would combine the illustrations and descriptions of a decent guidebook, plus audio of the described calls, not just the song but flight calls etc. Then to each bird have a record section to add time, date, place, description for sightings. And it could generate user defined lists based on locations dates etc.

And cross platform, iOs, Android, Windows Phone, plus Windows PC, Linux and Mac.

And free!!!!!
Click to expand...

I'd agree with all this except the last two words, I would certainly pay for an app that delivered all the points listed.:t:
 
The Sibley app for N America does most of that (not cross platform, at least not to the extent of notes being transferred). If a software like that should allow records to be made, then I would prefer that software to work together with Ebird so that the entry part was aimed at trips with some trip details and a trip could be semi-automatically uploaded to ebird.

Niels

PS Hardware: I use sibley on an ipad mini
 
This is though I know a lot of birders who prefer to bird with no playbacks. I wonder how split the market is. personally I use playbacks and songs expect during matting season, Smartphones are the norm for just about every market segment so I bet you can bank on that.
 
Along with the other suggestions I would hope that you would include the female of the species in your pictures. As a novice birder I do get a bit confused with coloring of the birds.
Logging ability like Njlarsen mentioned.

Also I would put in a bid for the ability of the app to be used with the Kindle series of tablets.
I am a bit selfish in that request as I do not own a smartphone.

Price; free would be nice but a small charge would be ok. Also have a good supporting help file,
list the version number, and a place to contact the author via blog, web-site, or e-mail.

Chuck
 
I think free is unrealistic! But the comment was probably tongue in cheek. You'd certainly want all calls and songs available for playback. Irrespective of your views on play back as a luring tool, any birder wants to identify birds by song/call.

Surely you need a smartphone for an app anyway, but - certainly in the UK, apart for a few deliberate 'I'm not having any of this new technology' types - phone = smartphone.
 
And pics of immature birds, at various stages where applicable, and eclipse plumages with approximate times of year for when birds in eclipse.

David
 
an app that could "listen" to bird song in real time and give a species name would be fabulous - I'd certainly buy it as I've always found bird song a real challenge until I get my ear in for the season (i.e. 1st Yellow-browed Warbler of the year ??? but after that I can pick them out fairly readily)
 
Agree with Mike C, an app that could "listen" to bird song in real time and give a species name would be awesome but a big ask.

Needs to be cross platform though, far too much just for the iphone currently.
 
The app I currently use sometimes uses poor first images of the bird. For instance, it may be of a juvenile bird. A thoroughly tested app is important so as not to mislead.

Regards price, if the app had good quality images, multiple sound recordings and key ID features in bulleted text format, I'd be happy to pay a few quid for it.
 
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