Mp3 player to attract birds to you (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
For those that may be interested in using an mp3 player to draw birds to you, here is my set-up.
The player is a NJOY from ebay, £16.00 delivered from Hong Kong it does not have any memory you use your own SD or MMC cards.I have a 1GB card in it which I got from 7DAYSHOP for £20.00 delivered. You do not have to spend a fortune on an ipod. All the British bird calls take up only 96.4 mb in mp3, or 74.5 in wma files, so you don’t need a large card. The headphones (which were not included) are Hitachi TMP028 DYNAMIC BOOST the type that clip behind the ear, no other external speakers are required. Turn the volume to full, the bird calls can be heard from the headphones loud enough for the birds to hear, and come and investigate the intruder. It works great.
Scroll through the player until you come to the bird you are after, press play, press repeat one, turn the volume to full, wait for the action.
I have mine mounted in a Tamrack strap accessory system which clips to the shoulder strap of my photo rucksack, this is a handy piece of kit, the clips of the headphones go through the elastic pen holders and they fold away when not in use, when the player is switched on, they stick out either side and I close the velcro flap, the player slips into a pocket below with spare batteries.
I can now walk about with out having to hold the player or speakers, my hands are free for my camera or bins etc. I hope this may be of help to someone, Bert


Product Features
1. SD / MMC card based portable MP3 / WMA / WAV player
2. Direct Music playback from SD / MMC card
3. SD / MMC card support: up to 2GB
3. Supports MP3 and WMA playback
4. Supports WMA DRM 9.0
5. 96 x 32 Pixel Display with LED backlight
6. Graphical User Interface
7. Display multi-language of song name and ID3 tag
8. 4 Play Modes :
Normal, Repeat One, Repeat All and Shuffle
9. 5 Equalizers :
Normal, Classic, Pop, Rock and Live
10. USB 2.0 Full Speed Compliant
11. No driver required for Windows 2000 / XP
Product Specification
Dimension 53mm(L) x 53mm(W) x 18mm(H)
Weight 50g (Measured with battery)
Interface USB 2.0 Full Speed Compliant
SD / MMC Card Support Up to 2GB
Battery Life Max Play time :
10 hours (1 x AAA Alkaline Battery)
Music format support MP3, WMA (with PD-DRM support) and WAV
Language Support English Menu, Multi-Language for ID3 tags

You might want to have a good read of these threads:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31961&highlight=tape+luring
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31916&highlight=tape+luring
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31916&highlight=tape+luring

Not only is "tape luring" (which is what you're doing) illegal in some circumstances, it's a crappy trick to play on territorial birds during the breeding season (ie now).

A good way to make yourself very unpopular very quickly - are you really so desperate to see birds that you can't just find them the "normal" way?

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=589661&postcount=2

And given the moral and legal ambiguity of this practice, I don't know if your double posting was a great idea, Bert...

Keith Reeder said:

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=589661&postcount=2

And given the moral and legal ambiguity of this practice, I don't know if your double posting was a great idea, Bert...

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Please explain yourself,Bert

Keith Reeder said:

You might want to have a good read of these threads:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31961&highlight=tape+luring
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31916&highlight=tape+luring
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31916&highlight=tape+luring

Not only is "tape luring" (which is what you're doing) illegal in some circumstances, it's a crappy trick to play on territorial birds during the breeding season (ie now).

A good way to make yourself very unpopular very quickly - are you really so desperate to see birds that you can't just find them the "normal" way?

Click to expand...

I think this quote says it all, and yes I am a responsible person. THE USE OF PLAYBACK

You really need to judge each case separately, but should always follow local restrictions (some areas/reserves don’t allow playback). Recently, there was a lengthy discussion on a scientific Neotropical board and the conclusion reached was comparable to the following:

First, there apparently have been NO THOROUGH SCIENTIFIC SURVEYS actually checking the possible effect playback has on birds. Overall, most scientists agree that playback if done using common sense, pose few problems.

The big problem often arise when people keep on playing the tape endlessly - if the bird doesn't react after 15 seconds or so, forget it and stop. And if a bird reacts let it be, no continuous driving it back and forth causing far more stress than needed. If done in a sensible manner, the bird will think another individual entered its territory, but it rapidly got chased out, and it will continue with its usual life almost immediately afterwards. Note that this happens naturally on a daily basis in most bird species, and really doesn't pose a big problem in that case (playback is basically imitating nature).

Special caution should be taken when dealing with rare birds or birds during the breeding season, and regularly a complete "no" to playback may be the best approach in those situations. Furthermore, areas visited continuously by birders pose a particular problem. In areas (both in the Neotropics and in Asia; I'm sure elsewhere too) where playback is used more or less continuously, it has been observed that birds get "played out". They quite simply don't respond anymore. On the other hand there is no proof that the birds actually disappear (but again note that no thorough scientific surveys have been done, meaning that we don't know for sure). However, in my opinion the question isn't if the birds actually disappear. The fact that their behaviour is significantly altered should be enough to ban it completely in those cases.

So, in the end I have no prob's using playback - and yes - have used it in various parts of the World. If you ever are to use it, check above and follow the basic rules – common sense is the clue…

by Rasmus Boegh.

I don't think using tape lures for casual birding is necessarily a good thing....

....but, that said I do sometimes use a Crossbill lure (given to me by RSPB ), but then it is not for "casual" birding - it is as part of scientific study mapping out the population and distributions of loxia in NE Scotland. I suppose anyone could argue that they are doing a study though ?

Can see why people don't like it but in my case it is a method of assigning type and species without having to catch birds ( which with loxia is very difficult anyway ).

Linz

What exactly do you propose to lure in with this kit, Bert? And why?

I've got no worries about Linz doing RSPB supported crossbill studies (I couldn't safely ID half of these if they came and bit me...), but surely the number of situations where tape luring is necessary or justifiable in the UK can be counted on your fingers?

dbradnum said:

What exactly do you propose to lure in with this kit, Bert? And why?

I've got no worries about Linz doing RSPB supported crossbill studies (I couldn't safely ID half of these if they came and bit me...), but surely the number of situations where tape luring is necessary or justifiable in the UK can be counted on your fingers?

Click to expand...

I posted this in response to members asking in the computer and recording sections, about speakers and mp3 players to use in the field, I thought I would let them know that you do not have to spend a fortune on equipment.
There are loads of instances where these can come in handy.
I use it because it can help to let you know, if there is a specific species in the vicinity where you are, i.e. in dense undergrowth ,there is nothing devious about it, the birds do not come and sit on your head, or put themselves in danger.
Surely I am not the only one to use modern technology.

When I go bird watching I go alone, not in a crowd, and I go to great lengths to make sure I disturb nothing. Bert

fishingdobbie said:

There are loads of instances where these can come in handy.

Click to expand...

... but also loads of instances where you can cause completely unnecessary disturbance to breeding birds holding territory, don't you think? Maybe you could also answer my original question and say what species you intend to lure in, or already have done?

fishingdobbie said:

I go to great lengths to make sure I disturb nothing. Bert

Click to expand...

Hate to disagree, but if you play an MP3, and a bird responds by either showing or singing back, then you have disturbed it to some extent.

tape playback / luring seems to generate a lot of ill feeling

if used responsibly it isn't a problem, certainly no more so than a lot of situations that arise in the general course of birding

as Rasmus says, common sense is the point

can't see a need for it in UK really though

Tim

Other than in studies of certain species, for example the Crossbills mentioned earlier, I would say in the UK setting, it is a sign of laziness to be using a tape lure - is there any species that can't be reasonably easily seen by simply employing a tad of fieldcraft and/or patience? Can't see the need for the disturbance ...and certainly don't see the need for a thread encouraging others to take it up - one individual tape luring probably does have little impact, but if it becomes commonplace, then maybe its a different matter - so don't see the value of comments such "All the British bird calls take up only 96.4 mb in mp3 ...Turn the volume to full ... for the birds to hear, and come and investigate the intruder. It works great" and "Surely I am not the only one to use modern technology"

I should have added that I only use a lure if I can't ( or don't think ) I can get an excitement call NATURALLY, which is always my preference. Much of the time at certain times of the year certain Crossbill types ignore the lure completely, and at other times you can draw them in from hundreds of yards with it, so the stimulus varies depending on species and breeding cycles ( which are all different ).

A small flock of Siskins landing in a tree of feeding Crossbills will usually elicit some natural excitement calls from them - basically they say "bu**er off this is our tree".

Also, playing a "synthetic" Parrot lure to a group of Common Crossbills sometimes feels ( and sounds ) funny - and no, they don't try to imitate it !!!

LC

Since this thread seems to have become an ethics discussion, may I ask (without taking a side) what everyone's stance on imitating calls using your mouth (vs. a tape) is? I assume it's the same seeing that the bird is disturbed. Also what's everyone's stance on flushing birds up (the whole "pshhh pshhh" thing)?

Tim Allwood said:

tape playback / luring seems to generate a lot of ill feeling

if used responsibly it isn't a problem, certainly no more so than a lot of situations that arise in the general course of birding

as Rasmus says, common sense is the point

can't see a need for it in UK really though

Tim

Click to expand...

I agree I can't see much point for it in the UK. Like most birders I know I do use it - in moderation - abroad. I wouldn't use it for more than a very short period. There is likely to be a very small amount of disruption to the bird- but you just sitting in it's territory may be causing it more, especially if you are unwittingly near a nest.

I feel pishing is far, far worse. Not sure what it does to the bird, but it's constant use, just because a bird has been out of view for a few seconds, irritates the f**k out of me.

Steve

Steve Babbs said:

I feel pishing is far, far worse. Not sure what it does to the bird, but it's constant use, just because a bird has been out of view for a few seconds, irritates the f**k out of me.

Steve

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Not half as much as if I were in the UK, heard an odd bird, and wondered what the heck was THAT - only to see some yahoo with his souped up Ipod and a big grin. At least pishing you know ain't real! If we can tell, so can the birds.

Scientific studies and other Good Causes excepted etc etc. It's the concept of recreational UK birders luring like US duck hunters that perturbs me. I'd need to get an Ipod too then - to listen to something else so I can't hear this unreliable and polluted soundscape and it's myriad false leads. Maybe we can turn the reserve log books into a playlist - species wanted today...

I for one am really pleased to have this issue pointed out and explained in the other threads.

I saw the great Attenborough doing just this in a rain forest somewhere on one of his recent 80th birthday repeats on UK TV. *I* thought this would be a good idea to flush out the birds so I could photograph them! And until I spotted this thread, I had no idea that it would / could cause harm or distress to the birds.

A major project has now been placed on indefinite hold, thanks to this thread.

There's a lot I still dont know :brains: and this is a great place to find it all out.

fishingdobbie said:

All the British bird calls take up only 96.4 mb in mp3, or 74.5 in wma files, so you don’t need a large card.

Click to expand...

Where do you get the calls from?

Cheers,

Andy.

Andrew Rowlands said:

Where do you get the calls from?

Cheers,

Andy.

Click to expand...

CDs i presume

just rip em to your MP3

although why you'd want them on an MP3 player for birding is a bit odd... in the car maybe or when cycling/walking to learn them perhaps?

Tim

Tim Allwood said:

CDs i presume

although why you'd want them on an MP3 player for birding is a bit odd... in the car maybe or when cycling/walking to learn them perhaps?

Tim

Click to expand...

Your MP3 player does offer one big advantage most CD players don't. As well as being able to fit all four CDs onto one device, they have a display that lets you read the track title. That should be what bird you are listening to if you ripped the CDs right, as opposed to having to look up in the book that a garden warbler is Track 84 CD3. Great in your car, or your ipod headphones.

Play that in the open in the UK without good scientfiic/conservation reason and you should be staked out on a rock and your liver pecked by eagles IMO...

My son has now bought me the double CD of 175 UK birds songs, and they have been whipped over to my MP3 player.

This proved quite invaluable as a reference when on a recent holiday at a watery location. I was able to tell the diff between blackcap and garden warbler only because I had access to both songs. I was also able to ID a grasshopper warbler & a hobby thanks to my MP3 player, so (IMHO) it does have its place after all.