Do You Have a Star-Trek Birding Universal Translator Device?

I speak Indigo Bunting, and Catbird … and even Wilson’s Snipe. Yes, via my Star-Trek Birding Universal Translator Device I speak many birding languages, and the birds speak back to me! Actually in my case I am using iBird Pro North America on my Android smartphone (also available for IOS). While $15 may seem like a lot of money to pay when many apps are free, the extensive database (940 bird species) which is always at your finger tips makes the cost worthwhile. In addition, to the app’s many other features which help in bird identification, the use of recorded bird songs in the field may be the difference between only hearing and seeing birds close up.

Over the past few days, I have used iBird Pro to attract Indigo Buntings, Catbirds and Wilson’s Snipes out of heavy growth to check out a singing bird they hear (i.e. me). If you hide yourself effectively, and remain motionless, good photographic opportunities often make themselves available. Actually, yesterday in the case of the Wilson’s Snipe, hearing the sounds from my app actually helped me make my initial positive ID.

Do you have your own Star-Trek Birding Universal Translator Device?! In the instance of iBird Pro I can even select a recording which is often from my own region. Thus, for the Indigo Bunting I used an Iowa song, not some bird from down south! With the Wilson’s Snipe the recording was actually of a Minnesota bird.

iBird Pro Main Menu – 940 Bird Species