Best Birding GPS for around $450 (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I'm a new birdwatcher and was wondering what is one of the best GPS devices for the job. I was looking for something that will allow easy cataloguing of bird counts. I have a separate camera, so photography from a GPS is not a necessity but it couldn't hurt either. Also, there is a wonderful online database called eBird. Are there any GPS units that are compatible with eBird, may so you can bring up eBird hotspot maps or something like that. eBird asks that observers enter in effort protocols which involve such things as distance walked, duration of observation etc. If a GPS could easily gather this data, that would be great.

Thanks,

What about average smartphone?

Any smarthphone.

If you still want an GPS (they're nice for other purposes, also). Any Garmin etrex will serve you very well. They come from 80 to 230 USD.

I haven't upgraded to a smartphone. I have a semi-smart phone that has limited internet capability. I have considered upgrading but I don't like the idea of using purchased data to access the GPS. A designated GPS device from what I understand taps into the satellite for free unlimited usage. I was hoping that GPS units are available that let you download limited apps like maybe eBird, but this is probably wishful thinking. I've read that some GPS units let you tally bird counts on them. This is the minimum feature I'm looking for.

Non_fuyades you say a Garmin etrex will work. I'll check those out.

Thanks,

GPS doesn't use mobile data.
GPS + mobile connection (also called A-GPS) uses data, but the data use is next to nothing.

conclusion: ignoring a smartphone because you don't like the idea of using purchased data to access the GPS is not an argument at all if only using GPS, and if using GPS + mobile connection, the impact is negligible.

I have a bike GPS I can use to measure miles walked. Otherwise I use the formula 1 hour = 1 mile= 1.6 km.

UnknownSpecies56 said:

Also, there is a wonderful online database called eBird. Are there any GPS units that are compatible with eBird, may so you can bring up eBird hotspot maps or something like that.

Click to expand...

ebird has an app for smartphones, that let's you register birds as you go. It logs the coordinates and also allows to calculate the distance and time spent for one checklist. You can enter data offline (without mobile internet connection) and upload the data to ebird at home with you wifi connection.

If that sort of thing is your main purpose, then a smartphone is definitly the way to go. A last generation phone offers all you need for 100-200 $.

A dedicated GPS unit like the Garmin Etrex may offer a bit better precision in the coordinates it gathers and perhaps better navigation functions than a smartphone, but using the data for ebird is much more complicated than with a smartphone.

I will do a slightly longer answer to allow you to see why I have what I have.

I initially wanted something that would allow me to use the Sibley app in the field, but I did not want to spend money on data in the field, so I ended up with a wifi-only ipad mini.

Next step was that I wanted to be able to do navigation using the same ipad. It being wifi only meant no built-in GPS. I therefore in the end got one of these: https://bad-elf.com/pages/be-gps-2200-detail -- it connects with the ipad using bluetooth. It can log your exact route for 1/2 a day or so, even though that is not a thing I have really used.

Since then, I have gotten a smartphone as well, but I still use the ipad/GPS combo for some things. It runs the ebird app just as well as my smartphone does. I can even have both communicate with the GPS at the same time.

Maps: I use maps.me, which cost me a few $ for initial purchase but has been free downloads of maps ever since, and the map coverage seems to be world wide.

Niels

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll take it all into consideration.