Birding Fun on the iPod

What possessed me, I do not know, but last month I replaced my dying PDA with the very latest iThing technology, something I swore I'd never do. Said "iThing" (actually, an iPod Touch 4G) has proved to be a fantastic PDA replacement, not merely replacing the pedestrian functions of calendars and todo lists, but also offering excellent birding applications that I never had before. There is, of course, iBird (I uploaded the Pro edition), which is a multipurpose tool. I have already tested its clever search-and-ID function and am impressed with speed and facility. The National Geographic Handheld Birds is proving to be a sturdy complementary field guide. And for extra fun I uploaded eyeC and birdcountr which promise to aid in finding the great scores and recording my findings. I haven't yet added BirdJam--that's going to take more dollars and another month-- but it is also on my radar screen. Gotta tell you: I am stunned at how these resources can be so strong -- covering everything from field marks, habitat, songs (in audio!) -- and yet fit into such a compact space. I am already chafing at the bit to get out in the middle of nowhere and put these 21st Century birding tools to the test.