Reviews of the
Thayer Birding Software
Guide to Birds of North America
We want to hear from you! Write to Pete@ThayerBirding.com
Fan Mail From Users:
Bonnie Clarfield-Bylin, 2011 Birder of the Year - Most valuable birding reference in my library: Thayer’s Birding Software, Guide to Birds of North America
Recently I was named the 2011 Birder of the Year by WildBird Magazine. While this honor was really given to me for my writing and passion about birds, I am also an intermediate birder. Much of the credit for my ability goes to Thayer Birding Software, for until recently, I did not usually watch birds in groups, except for my college and early National Park Service years!
With the newest Thayer's DVDs I will continue to improve my skills, and perhaps be able to count all the birds that I observe, because I am determined to identify them correctly. Your updated versions 4.5 and 5.5 keep getting better, which makes it that much easier to learn. Plus, I am looking forward to having easier access to photos of bird eggs and nests. The Birding Handbook is a wonderful tool, but a good quality photo is worth one hundred words! Through your incredible computer software, you have indirectly mentored a multitude of birders, including me, since the release of the first version in the mid-1990s.
Please read the link below to see my endorsement of you and your wonderful product.
WildBird Magazine 2011 Birder of the Year Article
Thank you for the many years of indirect mentoring and excellent customer support.
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Richard P - Your Birding Software is fantastic. Quite a few of our High Country Audubon (NC) group use it regularly. It always comes up as an excellent resource when the meeting focuses on sharing favorite ways to improve individual identifications.
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Craig S - By the way, my grandkids love your birding software. Every time they visit we have to spend time looking at the birds, listening to their sounds, and watching the short videos. The Pileated Woodpecker, Great Gray Owl, and Ruffed Grouse are favorites. I was really surprised when my 3 year grandson asked to see the Great Gray Owl and did a great sound imitation!
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Bill P - I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that your birding software is excellent and could not be surpassed even if anyone tried. I am sure a lot of bird watchers and students are really enjoying your program. It has everything anyone would need or want.
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Jim C (President and Founder - Wild Birds Unlimited) - I love your Gold Version and recommend it to anyone who expresses an interest in learning more about birds.
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Laura M (owner, The Compleat Naturalist Ltd.) - I am teaching a class this Sat. here at our store, Bird Song I.D. for Beginners, and I am going to use primarily your software (Gold) for showing pictures of the birds and playing the sound tracks. I will hook up my laptop to a big tv monitor in the front of the "classroom." It works very well that way for group demonstration!
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William K (9 years old) - Thank you for the Birds of North America software program. I was so excited we downloaded it the night I got it. I looked at pictures, watched videos, made lists and did quizzes until my parents made me go to bed. It is totally awesome!
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Linda - Love this software. I coached a 7th grade girl with it for Science Olympiad Ornithology. She and her partner won 4th place at Nationals this year!
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Ronald L - And thank you for one of the most fun programs I own. When you are deer hunting in the dark and hear a eastern screech owl and have never heard one before it was comforting to find the sound and know there really wasn't ghosts haunting the woods.
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Vitek K - Your software was an integral part of my training for almost a dozen jobs. Great work!
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Michael F - I love using the quiz to teach my students how to identify birds. The version 1/0 that I purchased years ago is extremely outdated.
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Rowland W (Charlotte Observer) - Hi Pete. We got the birding software you sent us and did a reader giveaway. Lots of people begging for it, from kids to retirees. Thanks for sending it to us.
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Francis C - I received the 4.5 disc, thanks. It is absolutely spectacular and working fine. Much superior to the 3.9.8 version.
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Doris G - I have to tell you that I've had so much fun with my gold edition of the DVD "Birds of North America." I've learned a lot. I'm no expert, but I'm fortunate enough to be able to travel to some interesting places where I have to try to figure out what's out there. Most recently it was hummingbirds in Arizona. Thanks for an outstanding product.
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Claire L - Just wanted you guys to know how much I’m enjoying the video quiz. I don’t know how long this has been offered but I think it’s brilliant and know I will be enjoying it for some time. Keep up the good work.
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Larry T - This winter I’ll use the software at my Beginning Birdwatching classes. Participants are always impressed with your software.
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Rebecca E - Looking forward to the updates! I sure like your work and continue to use my Thayer software all the time--great stuff!
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Gary S - I enjoyed the CD I purchased from the Arboretum in Minnesota. I even used it to present to a 3rd class at a school in Coon Rapids, MN. Our grand-daughter is in this class. The kids loved it!!!!
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Andrea Z - Thank you for your considerate response. The situation was indeed strange. After receiving your offer of replacement disks, I tried loading the software again. This time, it loaded from one of the DVD players but not the other - very strange. However, the bottom line is that I now have a working program that I am anxious to start using. Again, thanks. It's rare to have one's problems accepted as true and addressed in so rapid a fashion.
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Toni M - Thank You! Your software rocks!!
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Rhonda B - To the developers. Bravo on creating such an outstanding product.
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Nancy M - I love your software and have talked many of my friends into getting a copy for themselves. It is like having a bird book only 100 times better!
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Ed J - Everything is fine. Did the reinstall as you suggested, updated to 5.5.1 and restored my lifelists and custom lists. Thank you so much. Good Birding and thanks for the best product ever.
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Sally W - Thanks for the free v4.5 update. What fantastic software this is. I have used it for a long time now. I am now in Florida where the big birds live. There are Sandhills "singing" at me right now. Thanks.
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Goodland High School - Thank you for the wonderful product and being able to upgrade.
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Monique M - I'm a bird maniac and could not install my precious old cd on a new computer.
I have several bird programs, by far Thayer is the best... And just in case you might be interested: my latest grand-child is 3 years old. When he comes to visit we look at birds. I take photos, (I
live in the woods.) He loves to duplicate the bird's sounds. Then I put Thayer's on
the computer and we look at the birds he wants to look at, watch the vidéos,
etc. He just loves it. So it is a great fun teaching tool for young folks.
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Larry Moss - Thank you very much for the new version of eViewer. I installed it and listened again to the recording of the Carolina Wren, which has particular importance to me since I used it as the theme for my new Woodwind Quintet "The Woods" which just came out on my CD called "New Paths"
Innova 777). I thought you might like to see how a contemporary composer (and very amateur bird watcher) uses your wonderful guide. The opening of the piece begins with a transcription of that call (down a few octaves, and scored as a woodwind cluster.) It later appears slightly slower, the way the Carolina Wren I was listening to in our garden struck me.
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Richard M - I'm not an avid birder. But several of my friends are and they have commented on my increased knowledge when I'm using your software to test myself. Thank you for helping me learn bird identification.
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Jim T - Thank you for handling my request so quickly. I use the program every day. As a matter of fact I will be talking to 2 classes of children in February, and I plan to use your software as my main presentation tool. Once again, thank you and Good Birding.
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Carolynne F - Our church group held a big festival for 800 kids with 18 activities. I ran the bird activity. We used your software to display a flash card quiz of 17 common birds. They also built bird feeders from milk cartons, learned about bird feathers and then learned another 17 birds (with funny names like Laughing Gull.) The computer pictures were great. The kids loved the sounds and could even identify 5 birds by sound only. Everyone could identify 34 birds when they were finished. It was all done with ease - thank you, thank you. One person came by that had been told "you have to go do the birds, its really great!" I only heard good comments and saw only happy people doing it. So THANK YOU.
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Cyrus M - Thanks so much for your help, it's really refreshing to have a company so dedicated and involved in customer support. I'll install the new disc as soon as I get back from Micronesia. Thanks again.
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Wayne L - I wanted to send you a note to thank you once again for making a must have program for me as a long time birder. You know when there is software you just can’t do with out? Well this is one for me.
I attribute Birds of North America to making me an expert in sound identification. Frequently as the cold winter blues set in and I long for a spring morning, birding at Point Pelee National Park, my local hot spot, I have a cure.
I load up Thayer Birds Of North America and start the Pelee quiz. Then with my head turned away, almost every time now, I can identify all the birds by sound nearly 100%. The pictures were the key in factor in identification years back when I wasn’t as good at listening.
Then when I’m out in the field , bang it really pays off. To me your software has been far more important to me than any bird identification book could be.
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David R, Ph.D. (Department of Zoology - Miami University) - You have a tremendous product and I require it for all my Ornithology students.
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Gerry E (San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory) - Your birding software has been a great incentive for the birding fundraising teams in the past. You have a very good product to say the least!
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Donna N - Thank you so much, Pete. The disc came today. Great, great customer service.
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Jake R - I really enjoyed this software. My family and I used it to identify all kinds of birds that we saw. I personally think this software is really great... The photography on this leaves other birding programs in the dust. The images are amazing! I can see each feather on each bird!! The Petey application is hilarious! I used it to scare my friend half to death! To all who may be purchasing this product, GET IT!!
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Karen S (college ornithology professor) - The custom list has worked out perfectly!! The students were whining because they have 287 species ID to learn and they have to achieve 80% accuracy to pass, and I won't let them do a retest, so I just sent them the custom list, and told them to test themselves as many times as they wanted to, but for me it will be once. They can now pre-test themselves for greater than 80% accuracy before they do their test for me. Oh, what a blessing!
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Dan B - I wish to express my sincere gratitude for your assistance regarding your birding software. I received my new copy of the software in the mail yesterday; it's brilliant!!! I am also very happy to report that the screen saver issue appears to be solved. Thank you so much for your assistance and the high quality customer service you and your staff have provided.
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Brenda H - This is an incredible program. I’m not what I consider a serious birder, but as a wildlife rehabber I need to be able to identify birds and learn about their natural history, so this has been invaluable to me. As I mentioned before, I work at the newspaper in Greensboro, NC. Recently one of our photographers did a multi-media presentation of the annual bird count and sent his photos to me first to identify, using your program. Nothing makes people angrier than when a newspaper misidentifies a bird or a wildflower.
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Dennis P - Thanks a lot for getting back to me with the instructions for getting your program to work on my 64 bit Vista system. Everything went perfectly and your birding program is wonderful. I have a birding friend that I am going to recommend this to as a MUST have program.
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Ed P - Love this program - now that I've finally carved out time to explore it. Incredible. Thanks!
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Al B - I used my Ipod today [with songs and images downloaded from the Thayer Birding Software] on our nature walk at Howard County Conservancy in Woodstock, MD. We called an Eastern Towhee that was calling back to us from the trees. The kids, 3rd graders from Swansfield Elementary school loved it. I was asked what a Towhee looked like. I replied, "He looks like a robin wearing a tuxedo."
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Amy S - THANK YOU--Great service on a wonderful product. My husband is an Australian (retired) wildlife biologist and has found the CD very useful in learning our North American birds.
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Dale K - I really enjoy doing business with you, and customers service like your's is sadly becoming rare these days.
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Jim T - We met back in October at the Gold Crest Show and I wanted to share a short story that was only made possible because of your outstanding software. I had just completed the set up of an information section in our store [Ritchie Feed & Seed, Ottawa] , the highlight of which is an old laptop featuring your software.
One of my regular customers came in, excited to tell me of a beautiful Predatory Bird that had found her bird bath. The only problem was, she looked through all her books, and guides and could not identify it. So off we went to the old laptop, started your program, navigated to the color tab and at the drop of a hat, was an American Kestrel. It was "Her Bird". She was so delighted, and I must say for the first time using the program I was just as delighted. Ron Austing captured a beautiful shot.
Needless to say, my customer bought one DVD for herself and two others as gifts.
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Jan S - I just recently activated the Thayer screen saver feature. I am absolutely knocked over by the quality of the pictures – they are terrific. To all your photographers and to whoever selected the pictures – great job.
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Ken S (Mac User) - I just wanted to say what a great application and help eViewer has been for me. I waited a long time for you to put this product on the market and the wait was well worth it!!! I have two computers one that I use at work that runs on 10.5 and my one at home that runs on 10.4.11 Mac OSX. I am finally getting the update for 10.5 and am so excited.
I teach in Shishmaref, Alaska on northern side of the Seward Peninsula, we are more famous for erosion linked to climate change rather than birding but I am trying to get my students more interested because as we warm up we may see invasive species (I found some House Sparrows Passer domesticus that probably came over from Siberia, keeping an eye on that guy) or as the island erodes see species quit using our island as habitat due to competition.
Your software helped me identify some birds that I didn't have identified before and allowed me to correctly identify some I had misidentified. The quizzes have been great and I really like the feature of being able to download "quizzes" from Victor Emanuel Nature Tour's list of birds for their different trips to Alaska [Forums]. Excellent product!!!
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Chris L - Many thanks for such a wonderful product... i'm working it into some presentations and workshops that we do and it's always a big hit. will be working on a national audubon project instructing at their camp on the maine coast this coming summer and would hope i'd have a program that runs on my mac with the latest system. Any date when this might be ready? [We are aiming for April 2010 for a Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 release - PWT] Again, great job with this and i hope you keep up the wonderful work. all the best.
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Louis A (Quebec) - Thank you again for the support. I'm feeling that the Earth is realy a little village when I receive a service as good as yours with people staying 1000 km away...
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Aditi J - It goes without saying how impressive and comprehensive your Birding Software is! I am completly in awe of all the features.
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Betty F - I'll certainly tell others about the fine service. I already tell them about your products.
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Ray P - By the way, I love your product and your excellent support.
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Rev. Debra C. - My mom and I use the software while birding to help us learn the calls and markings of the new birds we are looking for. It helped us know what owl calls to listen for when we were camping in Southeastern Arizona last year. It is thrilling to see my mother, who is over 75 and still camping and hiking like most 50 year olds, be able to record a new bird.
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Sherry S - I love this program and have it on my iPhone [birds songs and images]. What a great advantage when birding! Thank you for creating it!
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Charles B - Thank you for your support of Thayer birding software. I received the updated version and everything works fine. I appreciate your help and support.!
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Jonathan W - I would also like to take this opportunity to tell you how much we have enjoyed your software for the past 5 years. We are new to birding, and having the ID Wizard has been essential to learning and identifying new birds.
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Rich C - [Rich's Backyard Birds, Lithia, Florida] Hey Pete! I love it when a plan comes together. You told me in no uncertain terms that if I set up a computer in my store for customers and used the demo software I'd sell it. Boy were you right. I put in a computer with a large monitor and loaded the software. I set it up for my state and easily made a custom list which scrolls pictures and calls of birds as the screen saver. That really catches their eyes. In two days I sold out the 4 copies I had in inventory. If a customer started playing with it, they bought it. I showed them a few of the features like the ID Wizard and then just let them try things alone. Talk about a product selling itself! I appreciate you being able to rush me more copies. It's only Dec 17th and I won't be surprised if I sell the next shipment you're sending before Christmas! Thanks for having a great product.
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John M - Thank you for a most helpful software package.
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Steve W - I want to thank you for the fast response in sending the replacement CD. We received it and have began using it. It was a gift for my wife and my 6 year old grandson who loves to bird watch. It is nice to know there is still honorable people and companies out there.
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South Dakota Bird Notes - Gold edition review - This review hardly begins to describe the usefulness and robustness of the Thayer Birding Software Gold Edition. I find myself in complete agreement with Thayer Birding when they claim "... this DVD is a must-have for your birding library This is the definitive edition of birding software!" The retail price of $169.95, therefore, is not outlandishly high. A comparable product covering European birds costs almost twice as much. This program is certainly worth the cost of a couple of nights at a fancy restaurant!
Read the full Review
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Edward S - Your latest version 3.9 is OUTSTANDING. EXTREMELY DETAILED, CONCISE AND THOROUGH. Several terrific features, such as being able to compare two birds at once, picturing nests and eggs and providing fun assignments. The absolute BEST PRODUCT of its information/type ANYWHERE.
Recipient received the order (which was processed and shipped IMMEDIATELY) in ONE DAY. Absolutely FANTASTIC.
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Jonathan M (Manager, The Wildbird General Store) - On a personal note, I just wanted to mention how much I've enjoyed your software--my Dad gave me a copy of v2.5 as a kid (bought from the store that I'm now the manager of!), and it's how I learned by bird songs--spending hours with the quizzes and looking at the photos. Thanks for a great product!
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Nancy S - Thanks also for a terrific program -- I really enjoy using this software.
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Linda W - Thanks a lot...your fix worked perfectly. Love your software, and now I
love your support, too!
I live on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and have a place in Kennebunk,
Maine, so am hoping to view some new birds during migration season. This is
the first time I've used V3.9 and it's great...maybe someday I'll go Gold.
Thanks again for your timely solution to my problem.
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Tom D - Just writing to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see the 3.9.6 update for free! I've enjoyed this software for many years and appreciate all of the effort that you and your team put into it. Birding is my escape from the corporate world and this present economical state. It's nice to know that someone was willing to put in a lot more work on an already quality product without asking their current customers to pay for it. In fact, it's really not heard of much anymore. I, for one, am thankful. The economy can take away my savings, but I see birds as a gift from God to help me remember that money is not what brings true enjoyment to our lives.
Again, thanks.
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Jim B - Thanks for the trouble-free software on an extensive subject.
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Darlene R - I might add that I really liked my old program but this one (v3.9) is just AWESOME! Thanks for making my bird watching even more enjoyable.
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Sue B - Your comments were a big help and solved our questions! Thanks for the gift of great bird info. Merry Christmas!
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Review in WildlifeSouth.com (Bird Vocalization section) - Thayer Software's "Guide to Birds of North America v5.0 Gold" and "Guide to Birds of North America v3.9" are complete birding references in a software format. Both include information on over 900 North American bird species, over 2,800 photos, over 700 audio songs, and over 900 range maps.
What makes the software a great learning tool and the reason for its inclusion in this section are the quizzes you can build to test yourself. One can create a 'custom list' with specific birds of interest, then use this list to create various styles of quizzes to be tested on. Specifically, you can create quizzes that test yourself on bird songs.
For instance, using v5.0, I created a custom list using the following states (TN,KY,VA,NC,SC,GA,FL,AL,MS,LA,WV) and the bird family 'Parulidae' as criteria. This created a list of 49 Warblers found in the Southeast. I then used this list to create a multiple choice quiz on the 49 warblers, selecting only sound to be tested on (as opposed to being tested on a picture, picture and sound, video, and range map).
Realize both versions of this software do much more than what is explained above and probably warrant a broader review. Because this section is on learning bird vocalizations, only the bird song quiz aspect has been discussed.
Also note there are differences between the software versions. Both v5.0 and v3.9 allow you to create bird song quizzes like the one mentioned above. But version 5.0 allows you to import your own bird songs (and/or photos and videos) in the event you would like to use something different than the included bird vocalizations. There are other differences as well but they are not applicable to this section. Version 3.9 is about 1/2 the price of version 5.0.
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Mary - Thanks for the pronto reply and good advice. You guys are great and I love your program.
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Bob C - Thanks for sending out the update for Mac computers. The new version, 3.9.5, really cooks and looks great on my iBook 12 inch screen. Love it! BTW, my wife and I lived in Naples from 1996 to 2001. Great birding down there, especially out at Corkscrew Swamp. We would just sit there on the benches at the walkway intersections, and the warblers would just about land on your hat! What a wonderful and peaceful place. We retired this year, moving back home to Mass. and enjoy feeding the chickadees, goldfinches and vagrant bluejays in the snow. Birding is just a wonderful way to connect to nature, where ever one is. Thanks for making it so much more enjoyable.
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Mike G - Last night I delivered my BNA demonstration to about 40 people at the Nature Vancouver Birder's Night. I had the Custom List screen saver (BC birds with songs) running as people arrived. To demo BNA, I worked my way through the program's features. One lady brought her laptop and followed my presentation click-by-click. She interrupted me, however, when I launched Raven Spectrogram. She was so surprised, she wanted to know how I obtained that program -- she had never clicked the spectrogram link before! (I always use Swainson's Thrush to illustrate the value of spectrograms as I think they really capture the upward spiral of that particular bird song, something which is not evident in the wave form.)
I showed the participants how I add my own photos to the Comments section, and the steps required to create a custom screen saver (many people liked that feature). I stumbled during the screen saver demo (as this is something I've done only a few times), but after a quick jump to the Help File (another demonstration opportunity), I was back on track. Finally, to further illustrate the type of help available on your website, I played your Export to IPod video, and then played a bird song via my BlackBerry. I also made my own video to illustrate how the link from BNA to the Patuxent web site works. (I used videos as no Internet was available in the lecture hall.)
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Robin C - I wanted to let you know that I had used my Birds of North America to study for the test for the Audubon Society of Portland's Master Birder Program. It's Portland's first time to run the program and I am happy to report that I made it into the group of 12! As the Japanese would say: okagesama de or loosely translated "thanks to you!"
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Rick P - My wife and I really enjoy this program. I should include my cats, too. They enjoy listening to the bird songs! I'm glad you created a Mac version.
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Ruth V - I installed v3.9 Birds of Canada today and it works beautifully. With this great program it is really easy to identify birds. Our birding skills will improve tremendously.
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Al B - We have a birding group called BARCBIRD which meets once a month at the Beltsville Ag. Research Center, Beltsville, MD. It is part of USDA.... Getting back to the bird calls, I downloaded them to my Ipod and got a small, round speaker for it. We’ve had great success calling in birds with it back in the Spring. A few that come to mind are Orchard Oriole, Wood Thrush, Common Yellowthroat and Tufted Titmouse. The Oriole actually dive bombed us.
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Bob N - This software is fabulous! The quizzes are great fun. I downloaded the bird songs and images to my iphone yesterday and last night a friend of mine, who is not a birder, described what sounded like a catbird to me. I got my iphone out and showed him the picture and played the song. You have provided a wonderful service to the birding community. Thanks!
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GUIDE TO BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA
Review by Donna Ikenberry
Not too long ago my husband, Mike Vining, and I bought a birding VHS tape. We thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about birds. We were promised videos and audios and we ended up horribly disappointed. The videos were poor quality and much of the time the sound was nonexistent. We returned the product.
Time passed. A couple of months ago we were in a visitor center at Rocky Mountain National Park when we happened upon Thayer Birding Software’s Guide to Birds of Colorado. Since we live in Colorado, and we are avid birdwatcher’s, we decided to give it a try. I must admit we were a bit leary after our first experience, but after popping the CD into our laptop we were immediately enamored with the program. In fact, we were so captivated with the product that on arriving back home we upgraded to the Guide to Birds of North America. Now we are doing our best to tell our friends and family about the CD.
Guide to Birds of North America is the most amazing product. As a professional wildlife photographer and writer, the CD comes in handy for identifying birds. Now when we see a bird and we’re trying to identify it the CD makes doing so fun. We just click on where we saw the bird, its size, its habitat, its color, and our choices are immediately narrowed down for us. We love finding new birds and figuring out what they are.
In addition to the bird identification feature, we thoroughly enjoy the sonograms and excellent photos too. Another fun thing about the CD is Petey the Parrot. Petey has the most adorable expressions and he is beneficial as well. If you ask him to pronouce the common name and latin name of a species he’ll do that. If you want him to give you a tip of the day or tell a joke he’ll do that too. In addition, type your message in Petey’s Sandbox and he’ll say whatever you desire. Petey is amazing and fun.
The CD also includes 700 fun quizzes for all abilities. There are special quizzes for new birders, quizzes for specific birds such as gulls, raptors, LBJ’s (little brown jobs—you know, sparrows), and quizzes for specific birding hot-spots. Making a trip to the Salton Sea? Click on Salton Sea and you can be quizzed on the birds seen there. There are also quizzes on Christmas Bird Counts from around the country, and if we want to build a quiz for us on the birds of Colorado (or any state in the U.S. or province in Canada) we can do that too. There are many more quizzes, but they are just too numerous to mention.
Once we decide on a quiz then we need to determine how we want to take the quiz. We can choose from multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, flashcards, and pick one. All the versions are fun and worth a try. The more we practice the better we get. And the choices continue....users can choose an easy quiz, one of medium difficulty, or a hard (expert) one. Language can also be changed from common name to scientific name, which is even more challenging. Additional options such as using pictures in the quiz, pictures and sound, only sound, and video, are also available.
And if all that isn’t enough, there’s a complete Birder’s Handbook on the CD, as well as the chance to keep your very own personal list of birds you’ve seen. In addition to keeping a bird list, we can make custom lists as well. For instance, Mike and I are heading out on a trip to explore parts of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California. We’ve made a custom list of the birds we might see on our adventure.
I cannot speak highly enough of the Guide to Birds of North America CD. It is a true treasure and reasonably-priced too. I know it’s a gift that we will be giving all of our birding friends and family. We’re sure it’s a gift they will always cherish.
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Graham N (Wildlife Ecologist) - I've really enjoyed your software and find it very useful. Keep up the good work!
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Heidi M - I'm the one who left a message with you on Wednesday wanting to order a copy of your new version 3.9 of Thayer Birding.
Actually, it's my 21-month-old daughter who needs the copy. We recently upgraded to a new computer with Windows Vista and were dismayed to find out her birds wouldn't work on the new computer! She loves watching the quizzes, and we were pretty proud that she learned what a chickadee says and what a cardinal says fairly quickly. We were flabbergasted when, one day when she'd left the quiz on but was sitting at the table across the room, that she apparently identified a bufflehead by sound!
So you see, it's quite important that we get the new version as soon as possible. Thank you!
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Ron K - I wanted to tell you that I received the new v3.9 CD this week and really enjoy it. Thanks for sending the new version quickly, everything about it looks great.
I appreciate your offer for the newest upgrade at such a reasonable cost. Your customer service approach is wonderful, especially these days, when typically after a new purchase consumers tend to be ignored. Thanks.
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J. C. - I do really enjoy using your software. It is the only way I finally learned
the bird songs. I did not think I was going to be able to do it. It's as hard
as learning a language. I started out trying to learn the bird sounds by
listening to the Peterson's Tape Diskette . It didn't work. With your CD I
was able to associate the bird with the sound by looking and hearing at the
same time.
I started with multiple choice with sound and picture and then with just the sound and then finally with just the sound and you have to write in the bird name. I didn't write the birds name in but I know which bird it is and I click on the answer and most times I am right. If I don't know I click on hint. I find writing the birds name takes to long.
Also by taking the birding quiz for New York State I learned the identity of birds I didn't know because they are downstate on Long Island and are shore birds. If I ever go down there at least I will know what I am looking at. I have also learned the identify of birds not commonly seen in upstate New York that are stragglers. Thank you for helping me learn the songs and I cant wait to get out there and listen and see some birds this spring.
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Harry B (from the UK) - What can I say? I thought the CLO Guide V3.1.2 was and is, terrific. This latest version is even better than that. You have created a product to be proud of and I have always exhorted birders to buy your product, as a preliminary to going to North America. Much more so now, believe me. I cannot thank you enough for your resolution to the problem I was having and particularly, the prompt manner in which you did it. Really; Thank you so much.
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Mary - I also want to say how grateful I am for the product that you produce. I started very amateur bird-watching about five years ago, as I was preparing for retirement. It has turned into a passion for me, and my only regret is that I waited so late in life to get started. This brings me to your software. I installed the first version, Birds of My Region, about two weeks ago and quickly decided that the upgrade to Guide to Birds of North America is a super bargain. The quality and variety of pictures of any one species are remarkable, and the Guide has an unbelievably rich array of other information about birds. Birding is not easy, though a great pleasure, and, after just two weeks, I know that your Guide will make my birding both much easier and even more fun.
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Peter S - Thanks for the great work... I have gotten immense enjoyment out of your efforts.
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Don G - While sitting at the dinner table at a friend's home in upstate Minnesota, we heard the call of a Pileated Woodpecker in a tree a few houses away. I started my laptop and 'Birds of North America' which includes the vocalizations of birds from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. I played the Pileated Woodpecker sound and immediately got a response. When I played the sound the second time a flurry of wings crossed the deck. A very agitated woodpecker landed on the bird feeder and began rapping on its roof. I grabbed my camera and captured the irate bird. What fun. Did the same with the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles.
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Mandy M - I love your birding software - we use it often here at the Forest Resource Education Center in New Jersey. Being able to download the calls will be especially helpful in our interpretive programs. We'll be able to take the MP3 player out on the trail for the visitors to identify the calls.
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Lyn F - First, I thank you for offering this upgrade at a price that is most reasonable. I have been using this software for over five years now, including numerous upgrades, and simply can't "live" without it! My initial splurge to buy the software has been paid off in years of quick IDs and information. My computer goes everywhere I go so I always have my birding "books" with me. I recommend this software to all I meet who enjoy birds. Thank you for a great product!
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Debra L - Thank you for the great birding software. It has been tremendously helpful in learning to identify bird species.
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Gail - I love GBNA and have installed a copy on my desktop and another on my laptop. I really appreciate the new license that makes it easy to upgrade my hard drives and have an install on each computer I own as long as I only use one copy at a time. Since I'm a geek, I upgrade hardware fairly often. It is nice not to worry about reinstalling, though to your credit, an e-mail cleared things up right away on the old version when I upgraded my motherboard and did a clean install of Windows, -- your company is so responsive. I had no problem removing the old version from my old laptop and putting it on my new laptop this spring, either. I mentioned that to some of my geek friends and they all agreed that this license model is superb and gives the customer a great value.
Anyway, thanks for your kind reply and you have one loyal customer here. I certainly have gone back to our local Wild Birds Unlimited, where I bought my original copy of "Our Birds - California" and let the people there know how useful Thayer Bird guides are. I especially appreciate the audio that allows me to confirm ID's aurally. It is my primary bird guide, for sure.
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LeJay - I did a birding by ear workshop for the local Master Naturalist class. I used your program to do 50 local birds. Everyone there was amazed by the program. Several have bought it. I am planning on using 3.5 for a Mountaineer Aububon workshop to prepare beginners for the CBC. It is a great teaching tool.
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Marie L - I am enjoying the new version you sent... on my laptop... and want to thank you for it. We have used it extensively and my husband, who never used the older version, loves it. When we were at Cape May last week, the computer and software you donated was on display. He sat down and promptly gave a demonstration and an endorsement.
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L. W. G. - It was a pleasure to speak with you today! As an amateur birder with only 2 years of experience, I can tell you that your software is a treasured resource. By combining sight and sound into one experience, I have learned very quickly and will continue to do so. I started with your Colorado edition and have upgraded to the North American licensing, in order to accomodate the migratory birds we often find at Barr Lake.
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Ruth S - For my Master's study at Central Missouri State University, I am studying the use of the Blue River Parkway in Kansas City by resident and migratory birds from April thru June this year and next. We want to show the importance of urban natural areas as refuges for birds. I record all the birds that I see and/or hear from sunrise til about 10:30 or 11:00. I have three pairs of 1 kilometer transects and do each pair once a week.
I use Birds of NA to study and record the songs of birds that I think that I will encounter or that I get confused over. I use a little handheld recorder to listen and compare to what I'm hearing in the field. When I get home I also check for songs and ID's that I was unsure of in the field that weren't on the tape player. Now that the field work is over for this year, I am using your software to make sure I am using the correct band code to enter my sightings.
I also work at Backyard Bird Center in KC. We have just installed a wall mounted flat computer screen by the front desk. During the day we use your software to play different looped quizzes so that people can see the pictures and hear the recordings. We can also demonstrate other aspects of the product with out having to stop the register program. Thanks for all your help and your wonderful product!
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Mark M - I have been using Birds of North America for several years and love it's versatility. As a store owner it is a great product that I believe in and can recommend with confidence to customers. As a naturalist, I use it constantly to conduct programs on all types of birding and bird ID lessons. Perhaps my favorite use over the years has been while leading birding trips to various locations around the country. A couple of years ago, our group had a three hour drive across Colorado. I fired up my laptop and loaded the birds of Colorado Trip Quiz I had created and we "quizzed" ourselves on songs of birds that we should hear at our next destination. The group loved it and it certainly made the time go by faster. Thanks again for such a wonderful product.
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Jeff J - Truly state of the art. I have shown it to everyone and it blows their socks off. For birders, the photos and song quality are unparalleled! Great job!
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Renae T - I just wanted you to know how much pleasure I get from the software I purchased. I show it to everyone who comes to our area. Thank you for poducing this marvelous resource.
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Jim W - I am working with 5 elementary school students to take them to the World Series of Birding on May 13. One of their favorite ways to study the birds is to gather around the monitor and take one of the many, many birding quizzes that are a part of the package. Thanks for a great product.
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Ann A - I just wanted to relay a belated thanks to you and any others responsible for the Guide to Birds of N. America v.3, software. I used it (and a Sibley guide) in 2002 and 2003 as a volunteer coach to prepare my son and another middle school student for the "Feathered Frenzy" event in the South Carolina Science Olympiad competition. The Feathered Frenzy event includes visual identification, recognition of bird calls, knowledge of taxonomic and habitat information, etc. All three of us were novices to birding when we began. In Spring 2002 these two students placed second at the state level in this event, and in Spring 2003 they placed first. It so happened that their school team placed first in the state competition in 2003 for the first time in many years, and therefore we went to the National Science Olympiad competition in May. The Feathered Frenzy event at the national level did not intimidate these two students at all, and they placed solidly in the center of the pack against some of the best science students in the nation. We felt that drilling with the software, together and individually, helped all three of us learn a lot about birds in a relatively short amount of time.
I also used the software to help identify birds when I participated in Project Feeder Watch the last two years in South Carolina, and now that we have moved to Alabama, will use it to get to know any birds here that are new to me when this season's Feeder Watch begins. Thanks again for a great product.
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James S - I find this software very useful in teaching a class on birds to senior citizens at the Tarrant County College here in Texas.
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Dr. Jessica Y - Hi, I just wanted to tell you how wonderful your previous CD has been for my ornithology class. In my class, a portion of the students grades for the practicals are based on their group's abilities to teach their colleagues 15 local birds (for a total of 75). The students love creating quizzes from your software and using it to teach each other.
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Tracy K - I'm sure I have yet to try out all the features, but I can say that many of the changes from the BNA2.5 are much appreciated (viewing all info on one page in the Field Guide View, improved photos, improved spectrogram, Similar Species View, Family Plate, Names in Foreign Languages, and even Petey the Parrot). Also thanks for providing the opportunity to custom install everything to my hard drive so I do not have to run off the CD. Thanks for such a wonderful product! (Can't wait for the new version of Birder's Diary!!!!)
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Shawn S - I have just got GBNA version 3.1.2 up and running on an I-Mac, using virtual PC -XP Home, version 6. So far, so good, even managed to do the download from the website to upgrade it. Thanks for the great product and for having patience with Mac users!
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Terrill S - You have done a fantastic job. Really amazing.
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Bill P - I just spotted a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese on a creek in our area, and I confirmed the sighting with Peterson, Sibley and Thayer. Your new guide is superb, even better than your old one.
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John W - Thanks for producing such a great product. I had previously used the National Audubon Interactive CD-ROM and was somewhat disappointed. So far, your product has exceeded my expectations. I particularly appreciate the updates and additional information made available at no extra charge.
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Christine Goff - It was great to have an opportunity to meet you at Birdwatch America in Atlanta. I just wanted you to know that what I told you was true -- I always consult my Thayer's Birding Software "Birds of North America" before checking anywhere else when researching birds. I write the Birdwatcher's Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, and as a writer I've used many reference tools. The Thayer's software reigns supreme. Thanks!
(Author of A Rant of Ravens, Berkley, October 2000; Death of a Songbird, Berkley, July 2001; and A Nest in the Ashes, Berkley, May 2002.)
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Don P - As noted, this is installed on my 2nd computer. The other was on the computer at my vacation home. I am not connected to the internet with that one and sent in the request by regular mail last week. I must say, this program is the best I've used. So much info on one screen. All the photography is awesome. The enlargements are so crisp. Again, a great program and I wish you folks well with it.
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Charlotte N - Last December the school I work for, Niskayuna High School hosted a Science Olympiad Competition for local high school students in upstate New York. Science Olympiad is a national organization that encourages students to use their science skills to compete with other students in either written competitions or building competitions. One of the events held is called Feathered Frenzy. Students must identify twenty birds by sight or sound and describe the ecology of several birds. Since I am a co-coach of our team, I had to create this event for the competition. I used Thayer's Birds of North America CD that was given to me by my mother-in-law. The CD was a big hit with the students and other coaches who observed the event.
It was very user friendly and perfect for this competition. In February we had a regional competition where our team placed second in the Feathered Frenzy event out of twenty-two schools. They place third overall and now we are heading to West Point Academy on March 24th for the State Competition. My team has been studying using Mr. Thayer's CD and say this should really give them a good chance of getting gold at States. I am sure with this wonderful CD we have a very good chance of achieving their goal.
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Gary H - Bottom Line: An already exceptional product has been made even better…no self-respecting birder should be without The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Guide to Birds of North America Version 3…you will learn much, and have a lot of fun doing it. Highly recommended.
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Susan T, Library Director - Thought you all might like to see the attached newsletter praising the Thayer software we've installed on our public-access computer.
While you're in the library, take a look at our growing collection of bird-related materials. In addition to a wide array of books, both circulating and reference works, we recently installed an awesome bird identification program (by Thayer) on one of the library's public-assess computers. Using this software, we've assembled a quiz, in-house, specific to the birds of Bandera County. It displays a photo of each species and its characteristic call, then identifies it (a kind of flash-card refresher for bird enthusiasts). With Dawn's assistance, we plan to further refine this customized quiz, creating segments for winter, migrating, summer and year-round species.
Today we had a crowd in to hear the talk also mentioned in the newsletter, and we had Bandera County's chirping birds in the background. Everyone who looked at the program was MOST excited with it... we're a birder's paradise, with such species as golden-cheeked warbler, painted bunting, black-capped vireo, scissor-tail flycatcher and on and on. Thanks for a nifty program.
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Cliff M - Birds & Blooms - Thanks for the copy of your CD-ROM. We liked it. The pics are great and Petey is fun/educational. What a great way to learn about birds. There's a tremendous amount of work here and very usable. I think you've got a hit on your hands.
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Joseph W - Downloaded Wizard 2 large file and 100 pictures. It was well worth the wait. Excellent, Thank You. I know of no other software that is upgraded as yours is. You make your programs the best anyone could buy. Thanks again.
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Stan R - The docents in the Dunes Center in Guadalupe use the Guide to Birds of North America CD (version 3.1.1) and find it to be an invaluable tool. The ability to make custom lists is a terrific aid in learning about the birds in our area. The program is chock full of superb photos, calls and information. Being able to compare birds side by side is another plus.
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Bill T - I just returned from Shaker Heights, Ohio and wanted to share with you another HOMERUN for your Birds CD. My presentation was at the all girls, Laurel School. In the first class of about 50, pre-schoolers, 3 1/2 to 5, I selected 12 different birds and recorded their sounds for playback. The Red-Winged Blackbird, Eastern Bluebird, Mourning Dove, Red Shouldered Hawk, Hummingbird, Mallard, Baltimore Oriole (Not the Cleveland Indians), Barn Owl Chicks (Our grandkids call them FUZZ BALLS), Long-Eared Owl, American Robin, Wild Turkey, Red-Headed Woodpecker. Each class lasted 30 minutes. The second group including my granddaughter, Pre-kindergarten, 4 1/2 to 5 1/2. The average class size is 12 students. We had 12 teacher's in attendance. They mentioned it was the best presentation they have had for these age groups. Each student had a picture of the bird we were discussing. I am retaining the audio portion for future use. Thanks again for providing this excellent teaching tool.
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Claudette M - Got the CD! I installed it, registered it, and am thoroughly enjoying it. In the end, I gave away the previous version. Some things get better with age...like wine, women...and bird programs........ ;~)
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Robert D - I got Birds of Massachusetts for myself. Now I need to order another one for my grandson -- he loves it!
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Elaine D - Oh, such good info on your newsletter. Glad to hear you all survived [Hurricane] Charley. It looked so vicious on the weather channel. I can't imagine the intensity of a storm like that having always lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We get dandy blizzards in the winter but rarely do roofs come off. Your Thayer software is the BEST. I just love using it. I find it very user friendly but nice to know if I run amuck you'll have the answer. I have recommended this software to many people. The quizzes are fun, the life list and documenting birds is wonderful. I use it almost daily. Keep the newsletter coming and I'll be anxious to see about the downloads.
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Terry L - You have a terrific software! That's all there is to say...
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Sarah P - My Guide to Birds of North America is one of my greatest gifts from my husband, Bob. I can not tell you how much I have learned and enjoy this CD. Thanks for producing it.
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Luanne H - Glad y'all survived [Hurricane] Charlie! By the way, as 'millions' of others, I love your software and use it a lot!
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Doug O - I went to Wild Birds Unlimited in Raleigh yesterday and asked for a product that does what your software does. They DID NOT think such a product existed, but said they had a CD with pictures of birds on it, Our Birds - North Carolina. I bought it and it does everything I could have hoped for! I called them back and told them what a great product this was and that I was surprised they didn't know more about it. I'm a beginner but I can't imagine that your product isn't orders of magnitude better than the traditional field guides and audio recordings. Just my 2 cents worth.
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Dave W - Just want to say Thank You for the great job with Thayer Birding Software. I have purchased 2 Birds of North America and an original Birders Diary from you and been very pleased with their operation. I have been so busy that I did not notice until today, that you would replace my CLO BNA 3.0.0 with a new updated copy. That amazed me. That is true customer service. I appreciate all your hard work on behalf of all birders. I will continue to recommend your products to all my friends and felow birders.
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Jacqualine K - I am a Animal Trainer & Animal Behaviorist for 43 years. I live and work in as Whisker Watchers, Inc. Animal Training/Behavior Modifications. I would like to share a wonderful story with you and Thayer Birding Company about how your software helped keep my neighborhood free from a Maraudering Murder of Crows. While working with your software Our Birds California a Murder of Crows frequently find our trees in the neighborhood. There must be minimum of 40 Crows to this Murder. I find them intelligent, crafty, with much tenacity and noisy. I decided to try your hawk sound to move this Murder from my area. I picked the Red Tail Hawk (we have lots of these wonderful Hawks in my area). Moved the volume up real high, and clicked on the loop of the sound track for the Red Tail Hawk, moved the volume up a little more. Within, 2 minutes the Murder of Crows left the area. The first minute seemed that the Crows were listening to maybe where that Hawk was and decided that it was in fact to close for comfort. This Murder of Crows were over 1/2 block away from my home. I did watch them in the trees with my binoculars. I did not open my windows, I just moved the volume up on my computer(Birds and Animals can hear for miles unlike humans) and then a little more and "Voila" my Murder of Crows left.
The next time the Crows came into the neighborhood was 2 weeks later not as many however, just as noisy with less Crows. This time I ran to the computer and brought up my wonderful Red Tailed Hawk. Again, I played it the same way as the first time. Within 2 minutes or less the Murder of Crows had taken off to another neighborhood. This Murder of Crows were 4 blocks away from my home. I am going to tape a sound of another Hawk and play the tape in our main Central Park in my area to see if this does work anywhere. I will bring back the news about this experiment and how it worked in the greater outdoors. The Central Park has different Hawks in it's area. So I will be trying the Hawk that is appropriate for this experiment and area.
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Jim S - I travel all over the country and a lot of people know that Phoebe (my wife) and I are birders. I'm always getting questions about "I saw this bird in my back yard, what is it?". I turn on your software and then go through the steps and usually are successful in helping them find their mystery bird. Thanks for what you do.
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Stacy - I LOVE this software, and I consider it the most complete source for birding. Can't curl up in bed with it, but the recordings make up for that!
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John S - I work for the Wild Birds Unlimited store here in Little Rock and promote your software at every opportunity. I really enjoy it. Keep up the good work.
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Connie N - I have waited so long for this. Did you hear me scream when I got your email announcing the avalibility of version 3.5? I was especially pleased to learn that I'll be able to download the songs to my iPod.
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Richard P - The revisions to the new program in version 3.5 are excellent. I really think you have the best program available of this type on the market. You have covered all the bases in one program and you have made it fun to use for young people and older people who think young.
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Irwin B - I think this software is great! Thanks for providing it to the birding community.
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Dan M - Congratulations to you for a well-organized approach to bird ID and for a thoughtful top-down approach to training beginning birders like us. Your literature is unusually well-written and user-friendly, too--not often encountered in the software world. I appreciate your concern and your attention to detail, too. Thanks for a fine product! The laptop goes with us in the RV, and the desktop, well, it just hums along when we're home
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Robert W (Chancellor Emeritus, University of Missouri--Columbia) - I had the pleasure of visiting with you briefly by telephone earlier this morning, and I want to thank you for time and courtesy that you so graciously extend to your customers. In this day and age, I have come to expect an automated answering system that generally ends in frustration after some ten to twenty futile minutes of holding and being transferred. To have Pete Thayer on the line within a minute is truly remarkable and a tribute to the quality firm that you have built.
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Lawson Y - Hello, my Dad spoke with you on the phone about providing copies of your birding software to the members of the Auburn University Ivory-billed Woodpecker search team in Florida. The 4 copies you generously discounted arrived a few weeks ago and I doubt any copy you have ever sold has been more appreciated. Thanks to a generator at our field site in the swamp we listen to bird calls every night to keep ahead of the oncoming migrants, and browsing the essays at our in-town bunkhouse has settled many quarter bets. On behalf of the IBWO search team, thanks, and wish us luck.
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George R - I have the Gold version and wanted to let you know I love the feature of adding the photos. I’ve been going through my digital photos and using adobe lightshop and cropping and inserting, indicating location and what camera and lens. Thanks for leading the development of the program.
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Note From Pete Thayer: We appreciate all the kind words and would love to hear from you!
One nice lady wrote and asked what was wrong with the program -- all the reviews were too positive! Well, our Knowledgebase has a list of problems that folks have had in the past as well as the solution to each of these problems. We try to release a free update every September so that everyone always has the latest corrections and improvements. To get these free updates, open your program and click Help. Then click Check for Updates. Run this TWICE. If you have version 1,2 or 3 CLICK HERE.
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