Bird Journal Mobile Reviews
"BIRD JOURNAL HAS been available to buy for computers for some time (see review in Bridwatch 226: 41). But now Bluebird Technology has made the listing software available as an iPhone app.
To enter a new record you tap the New Entry icon. Recording live time and position will give you a grid reference and log your sighting on a Google map. You can enter date and location and then tap Continue. Now it’s time to record the species seen. You can either use the county list for the location or the BOU checklist. Tap a species to select it; you can now enter number seen, whether it was heard only, an interesting sighting, good view, and sex. There is also a field for notes. Enter all the species seen and then tap Save. To enter species later on, tap Edit. You can also include weather information.
You can view a summary of your entries with species counts for the week, month, year and life. You can also view by entries and species. A Settings icon allows you to add locations, change what you record, and back-up, restore or export your data. This last is very useful – you can either copy all your entries to you PC or export them to a desktop version of Bird Journal, if you have one.
The app is intuitive and very easy to use – I worked it out quickly and started using it straight away. It certainly makes sense if you’re trying to cut down on what you take out into the field and would be great for recording species ad hoc, when you haven’t got your notebook with you. The biggest drawback is that there;s no way o fmaking field sketches, which is an oversight by Apple rather than Bluebird. The app is currently only available for iPhone users, but the company has plans to launch an Android version in 2012."
Posted: Dec 2011 | Reviewed by: Rebecca Armstrong at BirdWatch Magazine
I think this app is very good, the only thing I would like extra is a pull down box of my sites when adding sightings as it is a bit of a pain typing in every time. The customer services are very good when I’ve asked them questions and I have also purchased the PC version as it’s simple to export from iPhone to PC.
This has some excellent qualities, and the help and support by the developers is outstanding. Suggested an update to be able to geotag and move sightings after actually seeing them initially. Sometimes it’s awkward to do this out in the field. Apps like Twitcher and Aves Logger allow you to move the “pin” whenever convenient. This is being considered by the developers for a future update. When it does happen, will be worth 5 stars.
Looking forward to being able to record the rest of the Western Palaearctic.
I have been using the Bird Journal for a few months now. But trying to remember every single sighting and places where I had seen it is just a nightmare…! Now I have put this App on my touch, its just so simple and easy to use. After a week and a half of going to different places and seen lots of birds. I now had to upload all the info to my PC, and its all there in front of me with out retyping anything at all. Could probably do with mammals in the new update version but still 5 Stars.
I am using this app on an iPod Touch 3g so don’t have access to the GPS and mapping facilities but to be able to enter a list on the go and then import it to the desktop app is great.
Just some observations, not negative:
- Location filtering. When entering a new list you have to scroll through a load of preset locations and cannot filter by just your own.
- Species selection. A bit slow as it has to filter through all the BOU / UK species list.
- Species list customisation. There is no way (that I can find) to enter in your own species, e.g. feral escapes.
- Export function. A bit clunky, and although it works it is not terribly straight-forward especially if you have new locations on your mobile device.
- Statistics. I didn’t expect much anyways so I wasn’t too bothered but on the desktop app you can drill down to specific locations and pull up stats.
- Country species lists. Great idea and works well, hopefully there will be future enhancements to this!
All-in-all it’s a great start for a very promising app. Bear in mind that this is version 1.0!
Definitely worth while if you are lister and need something better than pen-and-paper. If you are looking for a complete solution for more ‘scientific’ recording then you’ll have to wait for v2.0!!
Having recently become a convert to using Bird Journal it was a natural progression to use the app. Data entry is smooth and simple but by no means lacking in the detail you can enter.
Having only a wifi ipad I have used the app with a Badelf gps unit and it works superbly and is also more accurate than the ipad built in gps.
Entering new locations etc is easy but the app could do with having any missing counties added at the next update.
Transferring data via itunes is straightforward although at the moment there has to be some resolving done when importing into the main Bird Journal program. I will add that having spoken to Bluebird they confirm that they will be addressing this problem soon in the form of an update.
It would be good to have more checklists (dragonflies, butterflies etc) in the app and I am told that this is something again that is being looked into.
One great thing not just with this app but also the main Bird Journal software is that the guys and girls at Bluebird take a great deal of trouble to help and answer queries and are genuinely interested in users feedback in order to improve what they provide.
Well done Christine, Justin et al
I give you 4 stars by way of encouragement…
This app is long over due and a great starting point.
This is room for improvement however and I hope you listen to your customer’s feedback and produce a 5 star app in the future.
Thank you and good luck!
This is a good recording app, for both new users and users of the Bird Journal PC software.
Sightings can be recorded quickly and easily and are geotagged and time-stamped (of course the geotags are only as accurate as the phone, which can be dodgy at times).
Picking from the list is easy (but limited to the UK at present), but will be improved when taxonomic ordering is introduced.
Exporting to Bird Journal works but is a bit clucky at present. An update to the PC software will sort that out.
This is far easier than carrying a notebook in the field (which I invariably forget) and it makes it very quick and easy to know what you have seen, where and when. If you are detailed note-taker you still need your notebook, but if you just want to remember what you saw, with a few comments, it’s excellent.
Taxonomic ordering, a world list and other wildlife lists, please!
This app is great for any serious birder who keeps birding lists & species counts of their trips. The UI is both simple & elegant, and the info you want to log can be customised to your own personal needs.
A killer feature for me is the gps tracking using the iPhone’s built in receiver. As you make your list the app precisely logs the location of each bird you input, and you can view everything after the event too on maps within the app itself.
So, easy to use & a great location positioning for individual sightings are perfect features for any birder. Include a Life List section & you’ve got yourself 5 stars!
Having been a regular user of Bir djournal for many months it is great to be able to have an app version on the move. This app will save time when it comes to uploading sightings onto the desktop version. Great layout, intutive and easy to use this is a great app for the money.
