For centuries ornithologists relied on binoculars, mist nets, banding stations, and direct observation to determine which bird species occupied a particular habitat. Today, however, an extraordinary new tool is transforming the field: environmental DNA, commonly called eDNA. This technique allows scientists to detect birds not by seeing or hearing them, but by identifying tiny fragments […]
There’s a new development in AI and this one pertains to birds. Swarovski is coming out with Optik Ax Visio smart binoculars – the world’s first AI-supported binoculars that claim to help you identify 9000 species of birds as well as other animals. I haven’t used them so I can’t speak from personal experience and
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One of the most notable characteristics of birds is their lightweight skeletal systems. Even though most bird bones are thin-walled and hollow relative to mammal bones, the wall of the bone itself is quite dense and the internal struts deter breaking. Some recent research tells us something that we had not known before: bigger birds
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I’m not going to provide another review of binoculars as there are lots of those on the WWW. Frankly, I think the best thing is to try binoculars in person and if they work for you, that’s what you want. You can get a cheap pair that work well, although the more expensive ones tend
A year ago I posted a blog on a combination bird feeder-camera that was supposed to identify birds at the bird feeder. I wasn’t impressed. Never could get the thing to work. Directions weren’t clear, for one thing. I was a bit overwhelmed by the tech knowledge the instructions assumed of me. My techy grandaughter
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A few weeks ago I was sent a bird feeder, not just any old bird feeder, but one with a built in camera. It takes photos of any bird feeding at it and send the photo of the bird along with its identification. Sounds pretty good, huh? There are several bird cameras on the market
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Birds are smart and we ornithologists are continually elucidating the ways birds view their environment and respond to it. Recall my recent blog The Crow’s Story. The books and research papers coming out now reveal a whole new world of bird behavior and brain function. I read Jennifer Ackerman’s The Genius of Birds a while
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