Birda Birdwatching Community (3 Viewers)

[Euan Buchan]

Seen this pop up on Facebook looks like a birding challenge/ records etc anyone using it? Birda – Connect with nature, find your flock

 

[Stonefaction]

I use it, but it's previous incarnation as Chirp Birding was much better, with a better sense of community and interaction between users. It may improve over time as the developers do have more stuff planned but right now it does things that are done much better already elsewhere. It is hard to see what group of birders they are trying to attract (novice birders with cameras?). Chirp had a website as well as an app and Birda is getting one too, which will at least make uploading photos less of a pain than it currently is.

 

[Scozmos]

I'm using it because it's quick n easy but, I'd guess it's aimed at the more casual birders and those with a passing interest

 

[Stonefaction]

I'm using it because it's quick n easy but, I'd guess it's aimed at the more casual birders and those with a passing interest

It actually isn't aimed at the casual birders etc. They wanted it to appeal to ALL birders but it really hasn't worked out that way, or shown any sign of really moving in that direction. It could('ve) be(en) a Facebook/Twitter hybrid solely for birders, if done right, especially given facebook is a shambles to navigate/find anything and Twitter could die at any moment - now would be a great time to promote it, with features to appeal to ALL birders. There is surely a niche for a Birders social media site but the 'contests' and limited interaction (hardly anyone comments unless there is an ID query....and the replies do seem to vary in quality (as they also do on here at times)). Birda's previous incarnation 'Chirp Birding' somehow managed to be a better experience and a more enjoyable place to visit despite being less feature-heavy. Maybe one day there will be a social media site for birders of all levels of experience that 'works'. Sadly, I don't think Birda is it (despite the team behind it's enthusiasm).

 

[JenFos]

I tried to use Birda, but it just doesn't do what I feel we need (at least in Norway). What I need when I go birding is some apps for identification, one app for logging what I've seen (eBird or similar) and one app for Bird alerts. These can be combined, but I think that will only be a mess and probably not a good product. Right now, the alert apps is annoying. In Norway we use BirdAlarm (paid subscription, has the possibility to let you control what rarities you want to get notified of, no social interaction) and Band (free, you get notified of almost anything from common birds to comments on observations like "Great find!") Neither of these works well. A social plattform for alerting eachother, but not getting overloaded with unwanted notifications, while also having a place for social interaction and commenting on eachothers observations is highly wanted. Adding photos, parking spots, observations spots and other useful information would be good as well. I think Birda has the potential, but it just misses right now. After all, birding is more fun when we can interact with eachother while birding, not on our phone from home.

 

[Euan Buchan]

I just signed up

 

[Stonefaction]

I just signed up

I pretty much gave up on it completely earlier this week.

 

[markpie]

Recently started using it, I like the concept of the challenges but find it's not the simplest app to use, recording a day's birding isn't as simple/quick as it could be.

 

[DeanLeverett]

I'm going to try it out over the next few week in Costa Rica. To be honest though....so far, I like the merch better than the actual app (nice baseball caps & t-shirts).

 

[Pegasorus]

I quite enjoy Birda as an app but agree there is plenty that it can improve on, which I think it has been doing over the past couple of years.
What do people think about Birda+ ?

 

[Scozmos]

I quite enjoy Birda as an app but agree there is plenty that it can improve on, which I think it has been doing over the past couple of years.
What do people think about Birda+ ?

I've been using Birda for a good while now but I don't see the need for + , an excuse to charge for it?