Birdwatcher's Diary for Android
Learning curve too steep, not useful in the field
You can quickly record your sighting. Adding counts and notes when needed. Output into format for import into ebird.
After trying most of the apps on the market, I've finally found one that I think is the best by a mile. It has lists from all around the world ( you can even make your own custom list). Locations are very easy to set up and access. All lists can be archived to phone or Dropbox, so if phone is lost or broken or if you buy a new phone, your lists are easy to re-install. Lists can be exported by email (say to your local bird club or recorder). The actual recording of the sighting i-e the scrolling to the bird and tapping, is simplicity its self. All this and much more can all be done in the app its self, which to me is a most important feature Support is excellent. You will not regret trying it.
Birdwatcher's Diary addresses some of the shortcomings of BirdLog, which I have been using for 3 years. In particular, it supports keeping a day or trip list covering multiple locations. I like that feature a lot. On the whole, Birdwatcher's Diary is a very useful data recorder. However, after using it intensively on a trip to Peru, I found myself frustrated over some features. "Intelliscroll" just does not work for me. Being limited to two characters when searching for a name is maddening when you have multiple screens of Antbirds, Antpittas, Antshrikes, Antthrushes, Antvireos, and Antwrens, etc., to scroll through. After my return from Peru, support for search was implemented in an update, but incredibly it is only supported in alphabetical list mode! I have no tolerance for alphabetical species lists. The lack of map-based location management is also a serious shortcoming. I continue to use Birdwatcher's Diary when I really need a trip list covering multiple locations, such as for a Christmas Bird Count, but it is not my primary recording tool.
Initial observations after one day's use. I have been using BirdLog for nearly 3 years so I was interested in whether Birdwatcher's Diary addresses any of its shortcomings. It does. I very much like the way that BD is organized around recording a day's birding. If you are an eBirder, you can record your sightings by eBird location, and yet still see your entire day's list. In contrast, BirdLog keeps each location strictly separate so you have no opportunity to review your overall day. This feature alone is probably going to cause me to switch to BD away from BirdLog. One thing that I will miss about Birdlog though is that BD does not allow you to pick eBird hotspots from a map, you have to enter them manually. I really don't understand why they don't add this feature. Overall usability is on a par with BirdLog, i.e., it's good. Unlike BirdLog you cannot simply enter band codes to find a species on the list, but BD's "Intelliscroll" method may prove to be just as fast when I get used to it. Apparently I am the only person to have downloaded this new app so far, and I found a few serious glitches with the initial release, but the developers addressed them quickly.
by Q####:
The checklist is great in the field but recently the option to change lists stopped working. Now the option has been restored I can now use this great app again. Many thanks.