YA Eco Mysteries, Memoirs, Novels & Travel

Technology That Connects Us To Nature

25/06/13 09:34 Filed in: Environment

In Search of the Elusive Cerulean Warbler

When we venture outdoors, many of us try to unplug from electronic devices. I don’t appreciate a ringing cell phone while floating down a peaceful river, or the jarring sound of an ATV or motorcycle, drowning out bird calls. My recent outdoor adventures, however, have shown me that nature and technology need not be kept at a distance.

I’ll illustrate what I mean. On a recent birding trip, organized by the Birmingham Audubon Society, to seek out the elusive cerulean warbler, we drove up to Graham Farm, Paint Rock River, and the Walls of Jericho near the Alabama, Tennessee border. The cerulean warbler—a tiny migratory songbird—is struggling to survive in the ever-shrinking bands of suitable woodland habitat. This elusive creature—a favorite among bird watchers and the fastest-declining warbler species in the United States—has lost three percent of its total population each year since 1966.

View from Graham Farm

Now, bird watchers simply love being in the great outdoors. They don’t wear fancy athletic gear, and they don’t strive to complete a rigorous fitness routine. They don’t catch or shoot anything except with binoculars and cameras.

Birmingham Audubon Society’s Birders

So it came as a surprise that they use the latest apps help to identify and find birds in the field. It’s no wonder, because these apps are specially designed for budding ornithologists and professional naturalists. Apps like iBird PRO, National Geographic Birds, Peterson, and Sibley Birds provide information on different types of birds from around the globe. iBird users can also enjoy hand-drawn illustrations, range maps, and professional high-resolution pictures. The best feature of this app is the ability to play songs and calls of almost 938 bird species from the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
On this particular birding adventure, we paused to capture the beauty of the sumer sun falling across golden hay fields, framed by lush wooded hillsides, and delicate Queen Anne’s lace, dancing at the edge of the roadside. Using the camera, with apps that instantly download pictures to the iPhone, did not jar me away from appreciating the peace and beauty of my surroundings. These photos allow me to capture a moment and share the joy with family and friends—instantaneously, or later as I am doing in this blog.

Queen Anne’s Lace Blooming at the Edge of the Roadside

Does there have to be a fight between nature and technology? I think not—if used wisely, and thoughtfully. Software developers have been successful in creating an app. for almost everything we bring along on field trips. This means important items such as an atlas, maps, flashlights, nature guides, binoculars, and survival guides— all now available as applications on mobile phones. Best of all, we no longer have to bring along these items that weigh down our backpacks.

Paint Rock River, Graham Farm

Oh, don’t let me forget to mention that we used the app to play the cerulean warbler’s song. We did hear the birds call from high in the woods twice, but only one accomplished birder in the group caught a glimpse of the elusive Cerulean warbler. A word of caution—use these apps discretely. Repeatedly playing a recording of birdsong or calls can divert a territorial bird from important duties, such as feeding its young. People should not use playback to attract a species during its breeding season.
In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been surprise by the use of apps. for nature exploration. I make my books available as traditional print books, ebooks, and enhanced books with embedded video clips and high definition photographs. When I first started writing, I did not visualize how my print books would become an integral part of the new world of digital media. Yet when ebooks first became available, many people protested that they were inferior and could never replace the experience of reading a printed book. Today, the majority of us download books to electronic devices. No doubt about it, we’ve come into an age where the digital world can help us more keenly appreciate the world around us.
If you want to explore other apps that will enhance your knowledge and appreciation for nature, visit these links at:

Aggregate Rocks On the Road to Graham Farm

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