Adam Wood, October 25, 2006
Before reading this article, please be aware that overuse -- or any use at all in some circumstances -- of recordings to attract a bird can be detrimental to the bird's well-being (and it can also be intrusive on the enjoyment of other observers). Some birds will abandon their territories and nests if they perceive an intruder of their own species to be too persistent and thus a threat that won't go away. For example, playing recordings of its song was one of the threats the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed for the Black-capped Vireo when that species was classified as Endangered. Because of this, the American Birding Association includes the following in their Code of Birding Ethics: "Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area."
There are two easy ways to setup your bird call broadcast system:
The first way is to go out on the web to www.birdjam.com and purchase one of their iPods and let them install the bird calls on the iPod for you and then send the iPod to you. This service will cost about $290 plus tax, shipping and handling. This is a nice option but they have a limited selection of iPods.
Another option is to buy the iPod that you like at a store like Best Buy for anywhere from $200 - $500 and then send the iPod to bird pod and select their loading service, which costs $30. So depending on what iPod you purchase this option is cheaper then buying one of birdjams iPods. If you buy your own iPod you will want to buy an iPod with at least 2 GB of hard drive space to hold all of the bird calls. You will still need to purchase a small portable speaker and audio extension cable from Radio Shack to complete your setup.
Here a three light weight affordable speakers sold at Radio Shack that will work with your iPod:
The Mini Audio Amplifier for $12.99. (CAT. No. 277-1008, Model No. 277-1008). This is the speaker that I use with my iPod for those of you who have seen my setup. I highly recommend this speaker. One note is that you will need to buy a 9V battery for this speaker.
Portable Speaker for Mp3 Player for $19.97. (CAT N0. 40-1469, Model No. PSB-100). I do not know anybody who currently uses this speaker so I don’t know if is any good or not but it is worth a look.
Portable Folding Amplified Speaker System for $19.99. (CAT No. 40-1441, Model No. 40-1441). I believe you will need to purchase an audio extension stereo cable with two male ends to connect these speakers to your iPod. Make sure that it is a stereo cable because mono cables do not work with these speakers.
If you want to setup your own system from scratch then follow these instructions:
Purchase an apple iPod from a store like Best Buy. I would recommend purchasing an iPod with at least 2 GB of hard drive space. I would also recommend purchasing one of the large iPods in other words I would not go with a nano because I believe they are a little too small to work with and can easily get lost if dropped.
Go to www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and download the free version of itunes 6.0. Install itunes on your computer and register it.
Purchase the Stokes bird songs Cd’s Eastern and/or Western depending on your interests from Amazon. www.Amazon.com. You can also purchase the cd’s directly form birdjam but they are more expensive.
Upload the bird songs from the Stokes cd’s into your music library in itunes. Do not setup individual playlists for the bird songs. Just leave them as they were imported.
Go to www.birdjam.com and download the birdJam maker software for Eastern and/or Western depending on which Stokes cd’s you have. You will save $20 if you purchase both Eastern and Western then if you purchase them separately.
You will need to download .net framework 1.1 for the birdJam marker software to work. Go to msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/framework1_1/. This software is also free. Once you have downloaded this software install it. Do not download the .net framework 2.0 it will not work.
Now install birdJam maker and input the serial number to register your product. When you buy the product you will get two emails one will contain the link to the serial number and the other will contain the executable download link to download the software. Make sure to write the serial number down somewhere or print it out because you are only allowed to open the link five times before it will be deactivated.
Run the birdJam maker software and it will setup everything up in itunes.
Now all you need to do is to attach your ipod to your computer and upload the playlists to your ipod and you are all set if you have already purchased your speaker.
If you have any difficulties please let me know and I will assist you where I can.
~ Adam Wood, OG Field Trip Coordinator, birdsondabrain@earthlink.net, 713-515-1692 |
