Link to iBird journal??

[Phaedris]

I have iBird pro and used to be able to look up a bird and then tap a link to go directly into iBird journal to record the sighting.  Now I need to go out of iBird, open ijournal and then pick the bird from a list to record it. Why did you remove the link? Is some other list system planned in iBird?

[thePheasant]

I have the same question.  It is a feature I use all the time.

[Khb]

I have the same issue. And I can’t back up the journal to Dropbox anymore. I need a new place for my life list. I see I can export CSV to ebird. That wouldn’t be my first choice. I don’t see a way to keep lists in there. And I prefer to use iBird. Argh. 

[Elizabethj48]

I also have the same question.  What happened to the connection with iBird Pro and IBird Journal.  It was there a few weeks ago.  Now it's not.  Very frustrating.

[dragon49]

I just noticed the link to journal was broken.  It worked with my may 9th observation.  Some subsequent app update downgraded the program and broke the functionality.  I just used the "contact us" feature of the app and brought up the issue.

By the way, the backup to drobox hasn't worked since 2017 and support has no plans to fix it.  Here was their reply to me when I brought up the problem:

Hi Mark,

We had to switch to iCloud because Dropbox changed the way there system worked so we no longer could use it. I have attached the article from our site about how to move your data over from dropbox to iCloud:
https://help.ibird.com/hc/en-us/articles/115007450248-My-Apple-Favorites-Disappeared-after-I-Updated
Sometimes the species will show up as their number in our system and not their name, so I have also attached the article with the spreadsheet that has the specie's corresponding name with their number:
https://help.ibird.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000654052-Migrating-Favorites-and-Notes

Thank you for using the iBird app, and please let me know if I can be of any additional assistance, 

BumbleBea
iBird Support

My iBird backup is quite large now with all the pictures, so I send it via Gmail and it sends the >25 Meg attachment via an iCloud link.

[Jamkaspy]

Same issue for me - I use the link to the journal all the time - hopefully they fix is quickly 

[JP48]

2 hours ago, Jamkaspy said:

Same issue for me - I use the link to the journal all the time - hopefully they fix is quickly 

If you look at the Update History for iBird, it states that they removed the link to iBird Journal in version 12.6.2.  It doesn't say why the change was made, but to me it sounds as though this is a permanent change.

[dragon49]

On 5/31/2021 at 4:57 PM, JP48 said:

If you look at the Update History for iBird, it states that they removed the link to iBird Journal in version 12.6.2.  It doesn't say why the change was made, but to me it sounds as though this is a permanent change.

iBird Pro Support got back to me.  Here is their reply:

Hi Mark,

We removed the link to Journal from within iBird Pro because iBird Journal is no longer going to be updated. You can still use the app by opening it separately and using it alongside Pro as opposed to within it.

Thank you for using the iBird app, and please let me know if I can be of any additional assistance,

I don't understand the relationship between iBird Journal not going to be updated and them having to remove the linked functionality.

[JP48]

1 hour ago, dragon49 said:

I don't understand the relationship between iBird Journal not going to be updated and them having to remove the linked functionality.

Having been in the business of software creation and maintenance, I can see where there is a growing likelihood that changes to one program might require maintenance to another that is being linked.  Might never happen, but eventually it probably would.  Removing the link keeps them from having to worry about that.

[Khb]

I figured this meant they weren't going to support iBird Journal. What stinks is I can't find a basic bird list keeper I like, and whatever I use drives me away from using iBird.

Also, the fact I can't back it up to dropbox anymore makes it useless moving forward. Which I guess is their point.

[JP48]

1 hour ago, Khb said:

I figured this meant they weren't going to support iBird Journal. What stinks is I can't find a basic bird list keeper I like, and whatever I use drives me away from using iBird.

Also, the fact I can't back it up to dropbox anymore makes it useless moving forward. Which I guess is their point.

I'm interested to know something about iBird Journal, and how you use it.  I just spent a few minutes reading a little about it.  I suspect most people use eBird for the functions you're looking for.  I didn't see anything in my research that looked like more than what we all get from eBird.

[Khb]

Maybe I'm missing something. With eBird, I haven't been able to enter something I know I heard, like a boreal owl, if it isn't listed as being where I am (Northern Vermont). The sound was identical to the Cornell and iBird recordings, darnit!

[JP48]

1 hour ago, Khb said:

Maybe I'm missing something. With eBird, I haven't been able to enter something I know I heard, like a boreal owl, if it isn't listed as being where I am (Northern Vermont). The sound was identical to the Cornell and iBird recordings, darnit!

You can enter it.  Somewhere there's a 'Show Rarities' box to click in the right-hand column.

Because it's eBird this will open you up to a bit of bother, as it needs to get through the local reviewer.  I know the reviewer for Addison and Chittenden counties, but I don't know who does it in other counties (probably know them too, just not who they are).  They may or may not approve the sighting (photos or a recording helps), but it will stay on your personal list regardless, just won't show where others can see it (Isuspect not a big deal for you).

[Amelia]

@dragon49 Did you happen to save that spreadsheet?  I’m looking for a copy of it.  That link is dead - iBird site under construction.  Also found a link to Google Docs - spreadsheet was deleted.  

[dragon49]

1 hour ago, Amelia said:

@dragon49 Did you happen to save that spreadsheet?  I’m looking for a copy of it.  That link is dead - iBird site under construction.  Also found a link to Google Docs - spreadsheet was deleted.  

Unfortunately, I do not.  I once looked at one of my iBird Journal backup files, and there was a "SQL lite" string at the beginning of the text.  I'm not a programmer, but I'm thinking that maybe a decent developer can import your last backup file into a SQL program and extract all of your info into a spreadsheet.  Whether something about the proprietary nature of the file would prevent the correct species association, I have no idea.

I'll let you know whether I can think of anything else.

 

 

[Amelia]

1 hour ago, dragon49 said:

Unfortunately, I do not.  I once looked at one of my iBird Journal backup files, and there was a "SQL lite" string at the beginning of the text.  I'm not a programmer, but I'm thinking that maybe a decent developer can import your last backup file into a SQL program and extract all of your info into a spreadsheet.  Whether something about the proprietary nature of the file would prevent the correct species association, I have no idea.

I'll let you know whether I can think of anything else.

 

 

Yes, the backup files are useless.  I opened them using Notepad and it was a bunch of formatting.  But there are numbers that I think are the bird species.  Thanks for responding! 🙂