Had a thought about calling birds

[Andy Favors]

Why not use a cell phone with ringtones of different birds? Would this not work? It's worth a shot anyway. I found a site with lots of sounds from birds, but they are in .mov format. Does anyone know of a site that has them in mp3? I'm sure someone on here has tried this before, does it work? If anything, for a newbie, it would be a way to learn the sounds of birds you can't see. You could compare it with sounds on your phone. Just a thought.

[TooManyShots]

Why not use a cell phone with ringtones of different birds? Would this not work? It's worth a shot anyway. I found a site with lots of sounds from birds, but they are in .mov format. Does anyone know of a site that has them in mp3? I'm sure someone on here has tried this before, does it work? If anything, for a newbie, it would be a way to learn the sounds of birds you can't see. You could compare it with sounds on your phone. Just a thought.


You could just make some "bird call sound" or similar with your mouth. :) It works sometimes if they are near the area. Others believe that one shouldn't use it frequently since it may disrupt the birding activities....

[jgrussell]

Why not use a cell phone with ringtones of different birds? Would this not work? It's worth a shot anyway. I found a site with lots of sounds from birds, but they are in .mov format. Does anyone know of a site that has them in mp3? I'm sure someone on here has tried this before, does it work? If anything, for a newbie, it would be a way to learn the sounds of birds you can't see. You could compare it with sounds on your phone. Just a thought.Better yet, with an iPhone the iBird app has all that built in...

[Andy Favors]

No iPhone, here, :(

[hollis_f]

Why not use a cell phone with ringtones of different birds? Would this not work? It's worth a shot anyway. I found a site with lots of sounds from birds, but they are in .mov format. Does anyone know of a site that has them in mp3? I'm sure someone on here has tried this before, does it work? If anything, for a newbie, it would be a way to learn the sounds of birds you can't see. You could compare it with sounds on your phone. Just a thought.

I have 1.7 GB of sound and movie files of birds on my Nokia N95 8GB. They were converted from the original .mov format to .mp4 using Nokia's Video Manager application (it converted the sound and video files).

I then got an iPod Touch, so I wanted the files in MP3 format. I used an app called Switch Audio File Converter (http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html) to change the .movs to .mp3 - which worked well and was free!

For both devices an external speaker is useful. I bought this one (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Altec-Lansing-Orbit-portable-speaker/dp/B000YEKM0U/ref=pd_ybh_21?pf_rd_p=138755991&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1501&pf_rd_i=ybh&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=02CW7R7JE8880ZE6BS1B#moreAboutThisProduct) .

[Andy Favors]

wow. Where did you get all of the files at? I tried the program you mentioned, and like everything else I've tried, it won't convert the file. Not sure why. Have a site that has a lot of bird sounds?

[canonloader]

Google is your friend. (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=convert+mov+to+mp3&btnG=Google+Search)

[Andy Favors]

If you could only see how many purple links I have on that exact search query.

[canonloader]

Whats so hard about converting a mov to a mp3? How many do you have to do? Can you upload one so I can try it with my stuff?

[Andy Favors]

Here is the page with the sounds I'm trying to convert

http://www.birdsofarkansas.org/sort.asp?type=alpha&Page=1

[canonloader]

Figures, None of those will play for me and I can't download them.

[badams]

Why not use a cell phone with ringtones of different birds? Would this not work? It's worth a shot anyway. I found a site with lots of sounds from birds, but they are in .mov format. Does anyone know of a site that has them in mp3? I'm sure someone on here has tried this before, does it work? If anything, for a newbie, it would be a way to learn the sounds of birds you can't see. You could compare it with sounds on your phone. Just a thought.

I do this with the common spring species I want to shoot. Painted and Indigo Buntings, some of the warbler species, etc.

It works fairly well. I've got the Stokes Field Guide to Birds Eastern and Western CD sets, ripped them to the computer in mp3 format then transferred them to my phone. The only thing is that I really need a set of portable speakers to make it louder. My phone volume doesn't go up too much (Samsung Delve).

[hollis_f]

Figures, None of those will play for me and I can't download them.

They play for me - using Quicktime. But to save the files I'd need Quicktime Pro (and I ain't got the license key on this lappy).

[hollis_f]

wow. Where did you get all of the files at? I tried the program you mentioned, and like everything else I've tried, it won't convert the file. Not sure why. Have a site that has a lot of bird sounds?

I took the sound and video from Birds of the Western Palearctic Interactive. Not sure if it's strictly legal but, as I've already paid for them, I reckon I'm morally OK. Besides, the guy at the BWPi stand at Birdfair last year seemed to think it was a pretty good idea.

[Andy Favors]

if you right click where it says click here to listen, and click save link as it will save them, at least on firefox.

[hollis_f]

if you right click where it says click here to listen, and click save link as it will save them, at least on firefox.

It will save a file, but it's not a proper sound file - just a weblink. When I save the link for the American Coot I get a 167 byte file that doesn't play in Quicktime. But opening it in Notepad reveals some interesting info.

[Andy Favors]

Yes, very interesting. That's all I needed to know, :D I have them all now. Good quality, and sound great on my phone. Thanks, :D :D

[BradM]

I have an iPod touch loaded with just about the entire libary from here: http://www.birdjam.com/

Using a battery powered external speaker and the pod it can be a very effective tool to call some species in (like Sora), to locate species (like owls) or just recognize calls.

Over use or use at the wrong period, like using a owl chick distress call when an owl is on her eggs and "forcing" her to leave the nest is certainly not right or ethical.

[canonloader]

It will save a file, but it's not a proper sound file - just a weblink. When I save the link for the American Coot I get a 167 byte file that doesn't play in Quicktime. But opening it in Notepad reveals some interesting info.
This is what happens to me also.

[lanno]

this prompts me to ask a broader question about calls themselves

if you record a bird's call, presumably one reason you might do this is to attract a similar species at a later date?

but what if that bird's call is a distress signal, eg "look out fellas, there's a hooman stealing our ornithological music IP, and we can't rule out that he wants us demised, too"

if you record that distress signal, then play it back at a later date are you (potentially, at least):

i) scaring off your quarry by broadcasting to them an alarm, a signal to decamp?

and/or

ii) distressing your quarry?


the first means you waste you time and maybe ruin any chances of any birds coming near you. the second is, i guess, more of an ethical issue...is this fair on your quarry to vex them so?


have i got this completley wrong???

[gasrocks]

Caution. Using calls, especially recorded calls is looked down upon by "bird" people. It can disrupt the bird's natural life. Try not to use calls.

[Blue Deuce]

Caution. Using calls, especially recorded calls is looked down upon by "bird" people. It can disrupt the bird's natural life. Try not to use calls.

Photographers themselves are looked down at by most birders for that matter :rolleyes:.

[scrumpy]

Caution. Using calls, especially recorded calls is looked down upon by "bird" people. It can disrupt the bird's natural life. Try not to use calls.

Totally agree.

This topic has been aired here before, and it's clear that the 'get the shot at any price' brigade don't give a toss for the environment or the subjects they pursue.

[Andy Favors]

Hmm, I could see the problem if there is a 24 hour call going on, but a 5 minute here and there, just to get birds attention, I can hardly see how that hurts the environment or the birds being pursued.

[badams]

It really depends on the birders you are around. I've been on several birding tours where they use calls. Some of those people I would have thought would frown upon it, but they didn't.

I only call when I'm by myself never in groups. If I am in a group I let the leader do it.

[Andy Favors]

I tried it today with a cardinal. Actually, none were around, and i played it a few times, and a male and female showed up. She didn't act that interested and just carried on with her bad self. But the male, he was getting amazingly close to me, almost ignoring that i was a human. He was very curious, and even started singing back. I quit playing it after a few times, but he kept looking on me, singing away. Here's one of the many shots I got.......

http://i43.tinypic.com/2pqopdc.jpg

[scrumpy]

I tried it today with a cardinal. Actually, none were around, and i played it a few times, and a male and female showed up. She didn't act that interested and just carried on with her bad self. But the male, he was getting amazingly close to me, almost ignoring that i was a human. He was very curious, and even started singing back. I quit playing it after a few times, but he kept looking on me, singing away. Here's one of the many shots I got.......

http://i43.tinypic.com/2pqopdc.jpg

Proves my point sir. You are interfering with the natural way of things. So while you were attracting the attention of the male just to take his picture, who was guarding the nest and the possible chicks? Not you, and obviously you don't care either!

[Andy Favors]

the mama, they flew in together, and she left.

[Mr. E]

I have a couple on my blackberry that I plan on using when hiking this summer...of course, i also had one set up for e-mail notification and then was looking around for a close by bird when it went off...luckily I was outside and not in a store...