Mike Stiles
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Birding Technology
by Mike Stiles
Just like everything else it has touched, modern technology, especially the internet, has radically affected even the simple act of going out and looking at birds. This month we will look at some of the changes wrought by our new world, like it or not. Let me apologize in advance for an article full of blue, underlined links to birding websites. Just be sure to return to the Slo Coast Journal when finished.
When I started birding, if a rare bird was spotted, we would take our notes, maybe snap a picture to later develop at the drug store, walk back to the car, try to find a pay phone and call the rare bird alert tape, or drive home and call someone with the news. We might be able to get the news out that day, maybe the next. Now, with our speed of light communication and instant access to information, the world is literally at our texting fingertips. Without leaving sight of the bird, we can "Ask the Google" on our phones for identification details, cell phone our friends, and even send out emails to birding list servers.
The advent of the birding listserv was the first real advantage to information exchange. As recently as ten years ago, the local birding community was relying on phone trees and the rare bird tape recorded messages to get information disseminated. I suppose a few had a mobile phone, but they were probably too big to take into the field.
Email Alerts and Information
In 1999, I used my connections with the Cal Poly biology department to start a county email bird alert system. It was cumbersome, but we could send an email to an alias (bio.rarebirds it was called) and everyone on the list would get an announcement of the bird sighting. The demand was great though, and we quickly outgrew the space that the university would allow us.
The next year, we discovered the Yahoo Groups listserv, and moved our membership list over to the new system. Called Slocobirding, the membership has grown to around 550 birders. Most are "lurkers," but the active birders that post to the site contribute greatly to the understanding of local bird arrivals, departures, and distribution. At the website you can join the group, or simply read the latest bird sighting postings, and even search the archives if researching a certain bird or location.
Now, most counties in this state have a rare bird alert email system. Visit Joe Morlan's map and click on any county for statistics and links for that county, and see the Sialia site for all the posts from every county listserv in the state in digest form. Of course there is a listerv for the state, CALBIRDS, and no doubt a simple search will return a similar site for any state you might be interested in.
Also available are BIRDCHAT, for general discussions of everything bird related, and BIRDWEST, BIRDCNTR, and BIRDEAST, for regional reports.
For the hardcore discussion of identification issues, check out Frontiers of Field Identification, where if you really care about molt cycles in second year gulls in Ireland, for example, someone on the list can explain that for you.
Equipment
The equipment we carry into the field has dramatically changed also. The cell phone, of course, has certainly sped up the information network, with calls to colleagues made the instant a rare bird is found. I've even been birding in big groups that have split up looking for a rare bird, and we all come running at the cell phone summons. I can't help but recall the sarcastic line in a song "everybody you see these days are talking on cell phones . . . I guess nobody's lonely anymore." But I digress.
The MP3 player is a popular item among birders these days. Loaded with every bird song in the nation, it's a good way to see birds as they react to a recorded call of their species. Please consider the ethical ramifications though, and use the player with discretion. Ask yourself if it is worth making a bird leave its nest to respond to a perceived threat from a recording.
Field Guide Apps
You can carry an entire field guide on your handheld device, download the latest birding apps, GPS the latitude and longitude of your bird, and uplink the data through your satellite connection. But for me, nothing will take the place of a simple walk along a creek with a pair of binoculars around my neck.
In May the local breeding birds are on the nest and are probably feeding young by now. Keep your eyes peeled for the rare migrant. The second half of the month tends to produce the ultra rarities. Don't forget to post your sightings on your favorite listserv.
Burrowing Owl on banner by Cleve Nash.
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