by Ken Blankenship, author, writer, editor, trip leader and creator of Wings Over Georgia.
I have been an avid and skilled birder for years, and yes, I am a self-admitted “birding by ear freak”. I have used tons of bird song CDs to learn bird songs. Then about a year ago, I used birdJam Maker to format and load the Stokes East and West CD sets to my iPod, along with the Cornell SE Arizona/Sonora, Mexico CD set.
I am now caught up in the enormous excitement of knowing bird songs—even birds I rarely hear—with an immediacy and accuracy I could only hope for in the past. Never before have I caught Bank Swallows mixed in with other swallows based solely upon their unique calls.
How did I do it? Well, I simply listened to the recordings over and over again on my iPod, changing my birding experience and success forever. What made the difference for me is having the bird songs so easy and fast to find on my iPod, and then practice, practice, practice at home, in the car, and in the field.
Yes, my birding buddies and I have a lot of fun playing name-that-warbler on long road trips, but practicing with birdJam isn't a game. It is for real, and it is applicable every time you step outside. I am making IDs I never would have in the past because I did not have enough experience with them in the field.
For example, White-rumped Sandpipers have a signature, diagnostic call but I am not often in an area where I might see and hear them. Last year I took a trip to Florida with some “crazy-experienced birders”. Because of my practice with my iPod, I recognized the White-rumped Sandpipers signature call as they were flying by in a mixed group of birds. I yelled out the ID, but the other birders were skeptical. There was quite a stir when we used our binoculars to verify the White-rumped Sandpipers by their tale-tell field marks as they were flying over.
The same is true for other birds that I don’t get to see very often. Again and again, I go back to the birdJam Playlists. I also create my own custom playlists using iTunes to concentrate on passerines, for example, and eliminate others that I don’t need to practice such as Shearwaters, and other pelagic birds.
Last time I headed out West with my birdJam iPod, I practiced key target species in the hotel each night. I constantly used it in the car to play the name-that-bird game. Some people might consider me obsessive but I’m proud that I often ID every species on my playlist of 204 Eastern birds without a single miss! So, I’ve moved onto the West but have only correctly identified all 182 species on my custom playlist on one occasion. I admit that there are a couple of species whose calls are so similar that you just have to get lucky. Lawrence’s vs. Lesser Goldfinches are examples, as are some of the tanagers.
A birdJam iPod is a powerful teaching and learning tool. Even an experienced birder such as me needs to practice, practice, practice to improve my skills and success rate. A birdJam iPod makes it simple, fast and fun. |
