Thayer Birding Software - Holiday 2008 eNewsletter

If you currently own an earlier version of our software, receive a 25% discount through December 31st. Go to Online Nature Mall to order. During checkout, enter the promotional code GOLD.

You can see all the other great features in the version 5.0 - Gold edition DVD for Windows by clicking HERE.

The Gold edition is being released on two DVD disks to hold all of the new features! This Gold edition, in addition to all the incredible media, has some amazing new features including:

460 new action video clips from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Fun to watch and of key importance when learning to identify birds in the wild.
695 new range maps from the AOU/Cornell "Birds of North America" series, depicting both summer and winter locations - including Central America.
Integrate your own photos, songs and videos seamlessly into the program using an easy upload screen. What you add appears as if it were actually included on the DVD. All your new media will appear in the Field Guides, on quizzes, in side-by-side comparisons, in zoomed photos and on screen savers. Add photos you took with your digital camera or images or songs you find on the Internet. Even upload songs from audio CDs you own.

Create quizzes on ANYTHING. The new My Quizzes feature lets you quickly build quizzes on any topic -- butterflies, foreign birds, wildflowers, dragonflies... even people. Just upload an image and a name for each item you want to appear in your quiz. You may also add a secondary photo, a sound and an alternate name for each item.
32 new bird species have been added. These are all accidental records for North America from the past few years. This brings the total number of species on the DVD to 957 and includes evey bird on the American Birding Association checklist through November 2008.
Band Codes can be used as the bird's name. The drop-down list of birds displays all the banding codes. Quizzes can display banding codes as the answer for any of the quizzes.
Photo Gallery now offers a primary and a secondary view of the birds. The primary view us typically an adult male and the secondary view shows females, immatures or birds in flight.

The cost for the Gold DVD is $169.95. If you currently own a copy of our software, you are eligible for a 25% discount. Enter the word GOLD in the promotion box during checkout. BUY NOW.

System Requirements: Windows Vista, XP and 2000; 1 Gig RAM; DVD drive; 6 GB free space on hard drive; plus hardware and software required to support multimedia applications. Technical support requires Internet access. [Works on 32-bit computers only. 64-bit version coming in 2009.]

Free version 3.9.6 Update - available 12/18/08

In conjunction with the release of version 5.0 - the "Gold edition", we are also releasing a FREE update for version 3.9. THIS IS A MAJOR UPDATE.

New version 3.9.6 Features:

1. Common Myna has been added as a new species.
2. Bean Goose has been split into Tiaga Bean-Goose and Tundra Bean-Goose.
3. The AOU taxomonic changes for 2008 are included - the order of the Gulls changed a LOT!
4. 27 new photos have been added - primarily warblers in non-breeding plumage.
5. 72 songs have been replaced with better quality songs. These are primarily higher-pitched songs.
6. The "My Comments" section has a new, easy-to-use formating tool that makes it MUCH easier to add your own comments for each species.
7. Most screens are now resizable and will "remember" where they were placed when last opened.
8. State and Province checklists have been updated.
9. Observer name can now be edited.
10. Many improvements were made to the Sightings Reports.
11. In Birds of North America, you may now filter on more than one location.
12. Any of the quizzes can be turned into a Custom List. (Very helpful for Christmas Bird Counts)
13. The ID Wizard will "remember" the last Location you selected.
14. The Quiz Wizard now has a link so you can get 40 free quizzes - based on birding tours from VENT.
15. A new Custom List has been added for Birds of North America - "708 Songs" - making it easier to download ALL the songs to your iPod or mp3 player.
16. You can control how many of your sightings appear on each Field Guide page.

Please note: If you have version 3.0, 3.1 or 3.5, this update will not work for you. You need to have version 3.9 installed first. To order version 3.9, please visit our store at the Online Nature Mall. During checkout, enter W428 in the promotional code box to receive a 20% loyal-customer discount.

How to get the free update:
1. Open your software program.
2. Click Help at the top of the screen.
3. Click Check for Updates.

If you are connected to the Internet, the program will go out and see if there are any updates for you. After you download the first update, repeat the entire Check for Updates process again -- the second update is much larger than the first update. When finished, click Help and then click About eField Guide Viewer. You should see that you now have version 3.9.6.

Pete's Tip of the Month

When you are looking at the Side-by-side comparison, right click a photo. You will be able to play the bird's song and flip the image 180 degrees. If you have two different species appearing, you can play both songs simultaneously!

While you are in the Side-by-side Comparison, click View at the top of the page and click vertical for a different "look".