Bird Records
I was a primary school teacher for 35 years until I retired in 2004. Sometimes I think I should have been a statistician – or been employed in some kind of job keeping lists, figures and records. I love things like that. So it is no surprise to say that databases are heaven on earth for me. Another of my passions is watching birds. Blend the two together and I’m ecstatic. Like a hungry pelican in a fish pond.
Birding Notebooks
Whenever I venture out on birding walks or drives I take my binoculars. Next – I pop a pen and small notebook in my pocket. In this notebook I record the date, place, time and list the species of bird seen or heard, often with the number seen (usually an estimate). Over the last thirty years I’ve been through dozens of those little spiral bound notebooks 11 cm x 8 cm in size – just right for popping into one’s shirt pocket. I still have most of these little books. (I actually started with a series of notebooks about twice that size – but they were too uncomfortable in my hip pocket when I sat down.)
Bird Record Books
A few years into my birding life I purchased a series of exercise books, similar to those used in classrooms. These I ruled up into columns: date, place, species name, number seen and notes about the sighting. As I started submitting records for the Atlas of Australian Birds in the late 1970s I added two extra columns: latitude and longitude. This pandered naturally to another hobby – collecting maps. (This was before GPS units). I meticulously and very neatly transferred all my rough, untidy field notes into these new books.
Computer Records
In the late 1980s I entered the computer world and quickly learned to develop a very useful proforma which eased the record keeping task. It looked much neater too. Now the sheets were being kept in ring folders. They now take pride of place on a bookshelf. The number of folders is quickly increasing, taking up even more shelf space. One major drawback – finding individual records relied entirely on my memory, not the most reliable retrieval system going. Enter – the database.
BirdInfo Database
In the mid 1990s I purchased BirdInfo, a bird watching dedicated database programme. My passion for record keeping reached fever pitch. Out came all those old notebooks and exercise books and into the computer went all my records. Sure – it was tedious. Sure – I nearly developed RSI. Sure – it was a lot of work transferring over 20,000 records, each one requiring about six keystrokes. But the benefits were amazing. For example, I could call up a list of birds seen in October 1976 in Blogsville. Or, I could tell in seconds and with a few deft touches of the keyboard the first time that I saw a Pixellated Boatbilled Fairy-Ducklette (I just made that up – there is no such creature – not on my list anyway.)
Simplicity
I love the complexities of outcomes from databases. The statistical outpouring from a database can keep me happy for hours. Matching that with my passion for keeping records and birds and well – I’m in pleasureland. Yes- I’m easily pleased. But it’s not for everyone. Some birders are happy with just a few simple lists. That’s fine. You can even buy printed lists of species names where all you have to do is tick the appropriate boxes. That’s fine too. Some birders only want to look at and enjoy the vast array of beautiful birds out there. That’s very commendable – there should be more like them. Keep it simple and easy seems to make them happy. But not for me.
BirdInfo
For more information about BirdInfo, contact the developer Simon Bennett by clicking here.
UPDATE: The webpage for BirdInfo is no longer available. The above link sends you to a page with Simon Bennett’s email address. I’m not sure if he is still selling the programme or not because a recent phone call from a fellow birder says he doesn’t answer emails sent to him. Sorry I can’t help you more on this matter. There are other birding databases available, so do your research.
Spoonbills of a different kind
I have been doing some searching on the internet over the Easter weekend. Last night I found a wonderful birding blog written by American birder Laura Erickson. She has written hundreds of pages about American birds and so her blog is very educational – and interesting. (Sometimes those two phrases don’t go together.)
Photo Gallery
The strength of her blog, in my opinion, is in her photo gallery. She has hundreds of beautiful bird photos. I was particularly impressed with her photos of the Roseate Spoonbills. They are so much more beautiful than our Australian spoonbills – which are lovely in their own right. It is such a stunning bird I feel like going out, buying a plane ticket to America and searching out this wonderful bird for myself.
Laura’s site called Birder Blog can be found by clicking here.
Little Corellas
Little Corellas are a common parrot in many parts of South Australia – and in other parts of Australia too. Flocks numbering in the hundreds and sometimes in the thousands are relatively common. The noise of a flock of five hundred to a thousand can be deafening as they fly overhead.
Pests
Both Little and Long Billed Corellas can become a pest species when they gather in such large numbers. Not only do they destroy grain crops they can cause a great problem in other ways, such as stripping leaves and bark from native trees and even damaging buildings and power lines. When they get to pest proportions like this people not only get upset with their raucous noises, they start counting the cost of the damage to property.
Calls for Culling
From time to time there are reports in newspapers and on television programmes for these beautiful birds to be culled. One such report was on our news last night. One local football club has had extensive damage caused by corellas to their light towers which are used on training nights.
I don’t believe culling will achieve much as it is a short term “solution.” It’s a perplexing and perennial problem – and I don’t have the answer. It just saddens me that people get to such a state that culling seems to be the only course of action.
Brown Headed Honeyeaters
While we were having lunch today a flock of about 7 Brown Headed Honeyeaters came to our bird bath for a drink. They stayed long enough for a drink but didn’t attempt to bathe. I was quick enough to get the camera out and get a few photos. This is the first time I have been successful photographing this species.
Brown-headed Honeyeater
Birds in Backyards
This evening I discovered a really useful and interesting website called Birds in Backyards. I had heard about this program before but I can’t recall visiting their website before.
Bird ID
One useful aspect of the site is the bird identification help called a “Bird Finder”. It prompts you to answer several simple questions about the bird you saw and then shows you the bird and gives heaps of information about the bird, its distribution, habitat and even includes an MP3 file which plays the call of the bird. It’s really neat.
Bird Records
The web site enables you to submit your bird records from your own backyard. The form is easy to fill out and takes only several minutes for each survey. Surveys can be daily (over a 20 minute period), weekly or yearly. Drop down menus make selection easy. It’s a really user friendly site. One has to become a member first, but joining takes only a minute or two and is free.
Aims of the Program
The following is quoted from the site itself:
Birds in Backyards is a research, education and conservation program focusing on birds and the urban environment. The program was developed in response to the reduction of bird species living in built up areas, the rapid expansion of these areas and the consequent loss of habitat. Initially a Birds Australia program, Birds in Backyards became a program of both Birds Australia and the Australian Museum in February 2005, when a partnership was formed.
To visit the web site click here.