Tweeters Archives

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Tweerers,

Recently several Tweets have made querries about the availability of
good birding software. I use software called "Bird Recorder for
Windows," which has been around for several years in Europe. It is the
most powerful and customizable birding software I've seen.

Anyway, here is the URL to the new home page for this software.

http://www.compulink.co.uk/~wildlife/

Cheers!

Scott Ray

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<TITLE>Wildlife Computing</TITLE>

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<IMG SRC=" logo.gif" ALT="Wildlife Computing" ALIGN="MIDDLE">
<BR>

<H2>Software for Birdwatchers by Birdwatchers</H2>

<H3><IMG SRC="constru2.gif" ALIGN="BOTTOM"></H3>

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<H3><EM>About Wildlife Computing</EM></H3>

<P>
Wildlife Computing specialise in writing and supplying computer
software to birdwatchers and other naturalists. We have been supplying
computer packages for birdwatchers since 1988. Our products are
in use in over 30 different countries world-wide.<BR>
<BR>
Our software is designed to be equally useful to birdwatchers
with a serious interest in records keeping as well as to the avid
lister. Although the packages are primarily intended for recording
bird sightings they are also suitable for recording other forms
of natural fauna. European mammal, butterfly, moths and dragonfly
databases are available.
<P>
Our <A HREF="birdwin.htm">Bird Recorder for Windows</A> and <A HREF="Birddos.htm">Bird Recorder for DOS</A>
packages are designed for use by individual birdwatchers and naturalists.
The <A HREF="clubwin.htm">Club Recorder for Windows </A>and <A HREF="clubdos.htm">Club Recorder for DOS </A>packages
are designed for use by Birdwatching clubs and other natural history
societies.
<HR>

<H3>Product List</H3>

<UL>
<LI><A HREF="birdwin.htm">Bird Recorder for Windows</A> Windows
based database package for individual birdwatchers.
<LI><A HREF="clubwin.htm">Club Recorder for Windows</A> Windows
based database package for clubs and societies.
<LI><A HREF="specdist.htm">Species Distribution</A> Species distribution
data and maps for Bird Recorderfor Windows. <IMG SRC="new_yell.gif" ALIGN="BOTTOM">
<LI><A HREF="birddos.htm">Bird Recorder for DOS</A> DOS based
database package for individual birdwatchers.
<LI><A HREF="clubddos.htm">Club Recorder for DOS</A> DOS based
database package for clubs and societies.
<LI><A HREF="psion.htm">Birdlog for the Psion 3a</A> Records package
for the Psion3a organiser.<IMG SRC="new_yell.gif" ALIGN="BOTTOM">
<LI><A HREF="cdserver.htm">Audio CD Server</A> Audio CD Indexer
database.<IMG SRC="new_yell.gif" ALIGN="BOTTOM">
</UL>

<HR>

<H3>Reviews</H3>

<UL>
<LI><A HREF="#BirdWatchingReview">Birdwatching Magazine - September 1993</A>
<LI><A HREF="#BirdwatchReview">Birdwatch Magazine - August 1994</A>
</UL>

<HR>

<H3>How to Contact Us<BR>
</H3>

<P>
Telephone: +[44] (0)1206 298345
<P>
Fax: +[44] (0)1206 298345
<P>
Email: <A HREF="mailto:wildlife at cix.compulink.co.uk">wildlife at cix.compulink.co.uk</A>
<BR>
By post:
<P>
<EM>Wildlife Computing<BR>
6 Fiddlers Lane<BR>
East Bergholt<BR>
Colchester<BR>
CO7 6SJ<BR>
United Kingdom</EM>
<P>
<EM>We can accept payment by Mastercard <IMG SRC="card_mas.gif" ALIGN="BOTTOM">or
Visa <IMG SRC="card_vis.gif" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> or by personal cheque
made payable in pounds sterling and drawn on a United Kingdom
bank. If you wish to pay by credit card please send your card
number, expiry date, the name that is on the card and the full
postal address by post or eMail. Orders will normally be dispatched
on the day following the order.<BR>
</EM>
<HR>

<H3><A NAME="BirdWatchingReview">Review - Bird Watching - September
1993</A></H3>

<P>
Bird Recorder for Windows allows you to keep track of your sightings
going back to 1900 if you feel so inclined. Every bird in the
world is listed, based on the classification of the Americans
Sibley and Monroe, a total of about 10,200 species. If you don't
get many Elegant Trogans at you local gravel pits, it is easy
to restrict your working list to the birds of the Western Palearctic
or any other area you choose.
<P>
Your sightings can be summarise in up to 255 different lists.
All lists are upgraded automatically so there is no need to enter
the same piece of information more than once. For example, if
I saw a Little Gull at Ferry Meadow, my local patch, it would
be noted on my Ferry Meadows, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire,
English, British, Western Palearctic, year and life lists, but
not on my back garden, television on Scottish lists.
<P>
Bird Recorder is very simple to operate and there is a comprehensive
on-screen help facility should you get stuck. As well as maintaining
sightings, I also use the programme to catalogue my bird stamps
and others use it to keep track of their bird photographs. There
is also a butterfly database available as an option extra.
<P>
This is an excellent package and one that I shall continue to
use. Highly recommended.
<P>
<EM>Gordon Hamlett</EM>
<HR>

<H3><A NAME="BirdwatchReview">Review - Birdwatch - August 1994</A>
</H3>

<P>
Software for recording bird sightings and lists on personal computers
(PCs) has been around for some years now and anyone who has ever
contemplated investing in a package will probably have heard of
the Bird Recorder for Windows program. The popular original version
has recently been replaced with a new release offering a number
of claimed improvements.
<P>
The most obvious initial change is the updating of the Windows
environment in this program, with the addition of an icon-filled
'toolbar' which lets you open new and existing files (in much
the same way that many word-processing programs have recently
bee improved with icon 'buttons' as well as drop-down menus).
This improvement in visual aesthetics applies throughout the program
creating a very friendly user environment which will be especially
welcomed by those, like me, who would not describe themselves
as computer fanatics.
<P>
To get into Bird Recorder 2 you must first open the pre-supplied
World Birds database; you can then open tables for species (in
either systematic, English name or scientific name order), sites,
counties, countries, lists or sightings or have a number of them
open at the same time. Tables can be opened through the drop-down
menus or with a single click on the appropriate toolbar icon,
a nice touch.
<P>
Records are entered into Sightings Tables via the New sightings
option from the File menu on what is essentially a three-tier
on-screen card. This has the facility to list sighting details
(dates, times, site, species, and counts) and the status/age of
the bird concerned (,heard, escape, age and sex, if known), as
well as providing adequate space for your own notes - perhaps
a plumage description or diary entry. A quibble with the first
version has been overcome here; it is now possible to enter different
combinations of plumage/age/sex of one species on the same record
card (for example where a count of 5 Marsh Harriers at one site
might include an adult male, two adult females and two immatures)
something which previously required a different record for each.
<P>
Locations are entered via a similar process into the sites table
with drag-and-drop facilities from the county and country tables
simplifying the process.
<P>
An indication of the impressive database facilities of this program
is the ease with which you can construct lists from your records.
By simply choosing Table|List|s|New, keying in the list name of
the and relevant site, county or country details and then clicking
on the 'tick' icon all the records are summarised at a stroke.
You don't even have to type the full county name; the first two
characters followed by a click on the adjacent 'add' button will
prompt a list of counties beginning with those two letters, from
which you double-click to make a final selection - another plus
point that helps eliminate errors in data entry which could come
back to haunt you when your trying to produce lists or reports.
<P>
Equally powerful are the Query functions, which allow the user
to produce any number of on-screen or printed reports, including
fully automated and pre-formatted trip reports on your PC's own
word processor, as well as export files. Other features of the
program have also been well thought through with, for example,
the option to customise various aspects of the programs and set
options such as autosave via the Preferences menu.
<P>
This new package appears to offer every conceivable function that
could be needed for pure bird record-keeping on a PC. If you feel
that its scope with a full world species database is too much,
future developments are likely to include a 'cut-down' Western
Palearctic version (GBP65) - or, at the other end of the spectrum,
a professional version (GBP125) which will include features such
as graphs and distribution maps.
<P>
I have yet to come across a better way of maintaining bird records
on computer. The package has been well planned, the documentation
is comprehensive and largely clear, and it is also a significant
advance on Bird Recorder 1.
<P>
At GBP85 it represents excellent value for money and comes highly
recommended.
<P>
<EM>Dominic Mitchell</EM>
<P>

<HR>

<P>

<CENTER>
<STRONG>Other Birding Links </STRONG>
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.gold.net/users/dj10/index.html">Birding Connections</A>
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.gold.net/users/dj10/obchome.html ">Oriental Bird Club</A>
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.gold.net/users/dj10/abchome.html ">African Bird Club</A>
</CENTER>

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