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Software for Serious Birders

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The latest ABA List Report shows BirdBase and BirdArea remain the choice of those who know best what birding software should do.

BirdBase + BirdArea

Nearly all birders who report to the American Birding Association life lists over 6000 and use computers use this software. It is the birding software most widely used by all those over the 1400 species reporting threshold.

Here are some comments by birders in the over-6000 group:

"I would find it almost impossible to report totals without BirdBase. And with BirdArea I can make my own check lists in seconds. What more could a birder ask for?" -- James Clements, California

"After studying the various products on offer, BirdBase combined with BirdArea was clearly my best choice." -- Tom Gullick, Spain

"Fantastic! Instant want lists for anywhere in the world." -- Peter Kaestner, Namibia

"I have used the DOS versions of BirdBase since 1991 and of BirdArea since 1994, and now use the Windows versions. I have been very pleased with them." -- James Plyler, Pennsylvania

Why are BirdBase and BirdArea the overwhelming favorites of these expert birders? Because this Windows software not only lets them keep detailed records about the birds that they have already seen but also helps them see new birds with its unique ability to produce check lists of the birds of any world area, labeling endemics and birds previously seen in the area, outside it, or both. We produce serious software for people with a serious interest in birding. But the software's careful design, comprehensive on-screen help, and click-by-click users manual tutorials make it very easy to operate, even by someone who is both a beginning computer user and a beginning birder. Furthermore, the adaptability of the software ensures that a beginner will never outgrow it.

BirdBase switches at a click between displaying all of James Clements' annually-updated, ABA-adopted Birds of the World species list or displaying any selection of species from this list, when recording sightings. Each sighting can have a note of up to 5000 words. Recording it immediately updates any number of taxonomically sequenced annual or life lists, such as yard, county, state, province, nation, ABA region or area, as well as lists of sightings for any combination of location, species, date range, birder, photographed, heard only, etc., etc. The lists can give details of every sighting or of only each bird's first sighting. Or they can just name the birds seen. BirdBase can list in chronological sequence all trips taken or the first sightings of all birds seen, list year by year the initial or final sightings at any location of a migrating species, tabulate population surveys such as Christmas counts, and much more. The program handles all name or taxonomy changes in the species list, and puts them in the sightings already recorded. And you can start with only a North American plus Hawaiian species list, at a reduced price, then add the world species when your birding territory expands.

BirdArea can list in detail the range of any of Clements' birds. And it can make check lists with endemics labeled for all world areas, that is all U.S. states, Canadian provinces, nations, ABA regions or areas, and world faunal zones, plus the Galapagos and almost all other major islands or island groups that have particularly interesting birds. Printouts can have places for multiple check marks and/or for field notes. If BirdBase is used BirdArea can label birds already seen on each check list, make hit lists of birds not already seen, and find any recorded sighting in which a bird is outside its known range. If BirdArea is used BirdBase can switch to showing only names of birds whose ranges include any world area when recording sightings of a trip to that area. This makes recording easier and highlights out-of-range sightings. The annually-updated BirdArea range data come from many hundreds of authoritative publications and from dozens of experts who bird the areas. There is also a utility called EditData which allows you to edit the range data yourself.

The following comments are from birders reporting life lists over 1400:

"I am a person who likes to spend as little time as possible at the computer. Because it is so easy and quick to enter and retrieve data, I actually enjoy using BirdBase. I could not keep records without it." -- Louise Augustine, Illinois

"The combination of BirdBase and BirdArea is unique. It helps me pick my next birding trip." -- Peter Bono, Connecticut

"I find BirdBase for Windows is excellent for my purposes. As a relatively unsophisticated computer user I was able to begin record entry, update and analysis with very little difficulty." -- Hue MacKenzie, British Columbia

"My experience with both BirdBase and BirdArea has been very positive. Easy to use and complete. One of the best parts of the programs is the excellent support offered." -- David Narins, Florida

And here is a comment sent to us by a customer after she read the eight preceding comments:

"I have 456 lifers and use your software extensively. I find it FUN to call up lists and compare yearly totals. Be sure folks know that even small-time listers can use your software with almost no training." -- Marcia O'Bara, Arizona




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