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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

What should the Sound Approach do next (1 Viewer)

BIG

Active member
A few years ago on here I asked whether Magnus Arnoud and I should update The Sound Approach to Birding. Since then Undiscovered Owls has come out. At present Arnoud and Killian are working on two long term projects. However Magnus and I are not so involved in these at this stage. As the two of us are together for New Year we wondered what you folk would most like us to produce next or have for our new years resolution.
 
Can I suggest a guide to WP waders? Lots of really evocative sounds. Many are rarely heard but diagnostic so it would be good to have a great collection that would help in picking out odd birds amongst flocks and ID'ing lone migrants passing overhead at night.
As I am replying I should of course thank the Sound Approach team for everything their previous sound guides- totally brilliant!
 
Bit of a necro-bump, but I'm a big fan of the Sound Approach projects and books.

Further builds on the family series (Petrels, Owls) would be good. Waders would be good but I'd probably prioritise some of the passerines, warblers perhaps. There's a lot of old and emerging ID which is voice-based (eg Subalpine complex, Bonelli's spp) plus the Sibe/abietinus/ etc Chiffy debate can fill half the book.

Probably what I'd like to see most though would be a decent flight call and viz-mig guide. As well as the usefulness of the calls, the coverage of passerine flight ID in guidebooks is generally pretty poor and a mix of flight style, jizz, silhouette, etc as well as plumage ID would fill a gap.

Extending the series to other geographies has already been mentioned for Oz, and a guide to N America should have a decent market as well.

As a general point I think a lot of within-species variation gets glossed over (ouch) in vocal ID even more than in visual and it would be interesting to explore some more of that.

Cheers

Matt
 
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Probably what I'd like to see most though would be a decent flight call and viz-mig guide. As well as the usefulness of the calls, the coverage of passerine flight ID in guidebooks is generally pretty poor and a mix of flight style, jizz, silhouette, etc as well as plumage ID would fill a gap.

I'd definitely buy this one.

David
 
Probably what I'd like to see most though would be a decent flight call and viz-mig guide. As well as the usefulness of the calls, the coverage of passerine flight ID in guidebooks is generally pretty poor and a mix of flight style, jizz, silhouette, etc as well as plumage ID would fill a gap.

Excellent idea - the subject of passerine flight ID gets little coverage, but if you are into visible migration it's a fascinating and often frustrating challenge.
 
As far as I'm concerned the main thing they should do is make their books more ergonomic to actually read. I loathe the short spine wide page layout which I find very awkward to hold - so much so that I've only got two in the series one of which I've yet to read.
 
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