JP48

Same version and build that I have. Maybe reload it?

On my iPad this morning, I had to select Sleuth from the 'hamburg' menu in the upper left-hand corner (there used to be a Sleuth tab at the top of the page), but it worked OK.

Quote: Posted 4 hours ago "I think there is a difference between the two products that has been overlooked, purpose. Monoculars are designed for quick handheld viewing while on the go, spotting scopes don't really work that way. I could see an advantage of having a monocular if you're covering a lot of territory at a rapid pace, a more compact alternative to binoculars with the potential for more magnification. That's just a spectator's thoughts, not the thoughts of someone that's actually played this particular game." I agree with @lonestranger on this. For background, I have a fairly expensive spotting scope with 20-60 zoom, a mid-range scope with 15-30 zoom (I think those are the numbers) that I have a special mount for that attaches to the window of my car, and a monocular which is 10x power (not in the range of the one you linked). Each has their purpose. I tend to use the monocular when I don't want to carry any other glass, even binoculars, because I can pretty much put it in my pants pocket. Sometimes I use it at sporting events. The mid-range scope is actually light enough that I can use it hand-held, which can be handy. The view through the monocular is somewhat low-quality compared to the other two scopes, which would make me suspicious of the utility of monoculars in general, but that might be unfair. Anyway, for the price, I think it's worth trying such a gadget. Be sure to leave us a review if you do. All my gear is Vortex.

-19 here (northern VT) when I got up this morning, but I still got an OK checklist (6 species, mostly at the feeders). Streak now at 1,798.

You're probably already aware, but The Warbler Guide is a good resource (book and app). You can key on region and season, and see different views ( side, head, underneath, undertail) and the app has a 360 view that is handy.

@Louise I feel your pain. I've always been a big-time proponent of iBird, and use it as my primary birding resource, and I don't much like subscriptions. However, I understand the reasons for going to subscription, and for $10/year (I think that's the price), the many advantages (for me) of this product over paper (regular updates assuming they keep them up, easy carry in the field, many sort and search capabilities, sounds, drawings plus photos, similar birds, etc, etc) make it a reasonable deal. I rather hope that enough people go for it that it remains a viable product.

To add a little to the hearing aid reference - I too had some older hearing aids (Starkey, behind the ear), which I quit using because they were falling apart and it was very difficult to use them with a mask during COVID. Eventually I re-visited my Audiologist, and ended up with a very expensive pair of Phonaks (also behind-the ear), which have a second program that amplifies the higher frequencies that I can turn on when birding. Whole new world out there. I'm still not too sure about directionality, though.

This bird doesn't seem to be referenced in iBird. Not the first time this has happened, nor the 2nd, nor the 3rd etc, Most often it's when the bird is some rare off-coast migrant, or a Hawaiian endemic, though. This one, according to Wikipedia, isn't all that rare, in the Southwest and in Mexico. Never heard of it, myself. I don't know where BRDL gets its codes to choose from, but I do have to use the full world list to solve it sometimes.

Possibly Bob Collins?

I have a pair of the Vortex 10x42. I've used them hard for several years, and for me they're fine. Of course, I use Vortex for everything (2 scopes, a monocular, my wife's binos, even our son has Vortex binos). I also have an old pair of Diamondbacks, which I did once send in for repair, and that worked out well, except that I ended up dropping them again and eventually replaced them with the Vipers. I don't know much about the other brands, except that many of the birders around me use Kowa scopes, which appear to be excellent.

Those would be huge numbers for my whole state.

Weird happening today. When I did the puzzle this morning, I was having trouble with, and ended up finding a different banding code on iBird from what I found on the list of world codes (I don't ever use this, but I was stuck). I mentioned this to another birder, and when he did the puzzle after noon he came up with a totally different bird. I didn't expect that.

Sounds like a Northern Cardinal to me.

I chopped this from a page of protocols for a program we have in my state. I think it agrees with other responses here to this topic, but I don't know it it's any sort of official policy for eBird. It seems like a good general rule of thumb to use, though. Does my landowner-partner ‘count’ when considering ‘Number of Observers”? This depends on whether or not they are an ‘active observer’, i.e. pointing out birds that you may have overlooked, drawing your attention to singing or calling birds, identifying the birds that they are familiar with. If this is the case, you would include the landowner in the “Number of Observers”. If they are along for the ride, and you are pointing out birds to them, they would not be included in this number.