At first glance, this app is a simple listing app, and that simplicity is part of the beauty of the app. Pressing the Start A List button leads you to the GPS page (if you have an iPhone). You do not need an iPhone and its GPS capabilities to use Birdcountr but some of the neater features of the app rely on it. You are able to name the location for each bird list and save the locations as favorites if you frequently bird at that location.

Entering your bird sightings is straightforward, particularly if you are familiar with the 4-letter codes that both the Bird Banding Lab and the ABA have assigned to each bird. But don’t worry if you don’t know them, you can also browse by family and search by full name as well. The quick entry just allows for “Unsexed Unaged” additions to the list but if you go to each species page you are able to enter age, sex, and plumage data. Twitter is also incorporated into the species page, allowing you to quickly send out an alert for rarer species.

As you build your list, you can select the this list screen and quickly add additional birds of the species you have already seen. This allows for even quicker entry as you are birding which is a good thing because if the app would distract from birding, I would not use it. Ok, so I am a tech geek, I would probably still use it, but I would at least think about not using it!

Once you have competed some lists, you are able to see the real power and utility of the birdcountr app. Going through the Archives page, you can look at all your previous lists. You can also view the Archives by species. You can then quickly check out all the locations you have recorded a Blackburnian Warbler, for instance. Age and sex data are also prominently displayed.

Going to the Map View, you can see the exact locations where you added birds to the map. You can see all the entries from that list, or you can select one species and see all the locations you recorded it. This is a great feature for long hikes because it is often hard to remember where you saw all the birds. You may also be able to pick out trends for the habitats that certain birds are more likely to be seen in, like the Black-throated Green Warbler hanging out in the hemlocks (above right).

Other options from the Archives include reopening a list or emailing yourself (or anyone else) a list. This option could be great for a quick post to a birding email listserv. A new feature in this version is the ability to email yourself a file that is formatted either for upload to eBird or to Google Earth. Uploading to eBird will be a great time saver and will hopefully just more people to take that extra step and being able to see your bird walks in Google Earth is just brilliant.

There are different settings that you can change, including which birds photos show up for each bird family, making custom bird lists and selecting which list to use. It is all very intuitive.

Final thoughts

This is a quick and easy app to use in the field without being distracting from the actual birding. If you have an iPhone, there is also the added bonus of all the mapping features which really add value to the app. I find it much more enjoyable than carrying a notebook and pen, in part because that requires two hands. I think this app takes less of my concentration and therefore I am able to focus more on the birds.

The developer has been very quick to come out with new releases to squash any bugs and he is obviously intent on continually updating the app with new features. He is a birder himself and that really shows as you use the app. I think it is definitely worth the $4.99 that the developer is charging for it and I hope that you give it a try!

If you have used this app, let me know what you think.

Related articles by Zemanta

• iPhone Apps for Bird Watchers (brighthub.com)

Ever since I first began using the Sibley guides, I have been continuously impressed with how accurately he portrayed the birds in various poses, both perching and flying, and at different ages. There have been numerous occasions when I read about a “new” field mark to use, only to look in Sibley and it is already perfectly illustrated. He also shows the wide range of variation exhibited by many species of birds. This has now been brought to a much more portable form factor in the iPhone.

One great feature of this app is that you are able to compare two different species on the screen at the same time. The app allows you to flip thru all the available illustrations of each bird for comparison as well as bring up the range maps (left) and songs/calls for comparison. As you can see below (right), there is also a good selection of songs for each species, better than any iPhone app I have tried so far.

Perhaps the strongest feature of this app is the sheer number of high quality illustrations for each species. Each species is shown in each distinctive plumage as well as in flight. This is great when you are trying to find a Lapland Longspur hiding in a flock of Horned Larks and want to quickly see what field marks to scan for.

A great example of the included illustrations is the Red-tailed Hawk. There are no less than 39 illustrations of Red-tailed Hawks in addition to 7 silhouettes, depicting all the different forms from eastern to Krider’s and Harlan’s at several different ages, in flight from above and below, and perched. It is easy to quickly flick up and down between the different illustrations.

For each species there is size, habitat and behaviour information as well as descriptions of the songs and calls they make.. Some other features include the ability to set you location and then have your list limited to birds in your region, keep track of your life list, and search for birds by habitat, color and other attributes.

So far I am pretty impressed with the app and can see myself actually referencing this in the field. Sibley has once again released the field guide that made all others look obsolete in comparison. No other app provides the comprehensive audio and illustrations available on the Sibley eGuide. This app will join BirdsEye as my daily references for birding. Let me know in the comments what you think about this new app.

Buy the Sibley eGuide for $29.99 on the iTunes store.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Guide to Birding Field Guides (birdfreak.com)
• David Allen Sibley: How to Draw an Osprey (omnivoracious.com)