[obol] Re: The wonders and limitations of a brave new world
- From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
- To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 09 May 2016 16:30:39 -0700
On Sun, 8 May 2016 21:33 Mike Patterson wrote:
I think about how field note taking has changed...
http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/northcoastdiaries/
Thanks for this thoughtful essay, Mike.
Smartphones (with or without cameras) increasingly are taking the place
of the old yellow-covered Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks, as the primary
means of recording bird observations in the field.
One thing that really made an impression on me about 15 years ago, when
I went birding with Matt Hunter at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, was Matt's
approach to taking notes. He had one of the 3-ring binders with
Rite-in-the-Rain filler sheets, hanging by a strap from his shoulder.
Matt commented that he liked to write down some sort of observation for
each species that he recorded. A note on what kind of bush a bird was
in, what it was eating, whether it was singing, molting, preening etc.
It was easy to see how this kind of an approach, repeated over many days
in the field, could lead to insights on bird behavior/ecology that you'd
never gain just by counting birds all day long.
Theoretically, the new smartphone apps should let birders record
observations like these, just like in the old yellow-covered notebooks.
But I wonder how many birders are using them that way.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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