With memories of the 111th Audubon Christmas Bird Count still fresh, a conversation sprang up within our staff about the possible impact of the use of recorded bird song in these counts. For a few years now, birders have been using mobile phone birding applications that play stunningly accurate recordings of birds loud enough to actually attract birds. Volunteers are increasingly using these apps during the Audubon Christmas Bird Count to coax birds out of hiding. So the question: Does the use of this technology effect the total number of species and individuals counted? What do you think?

Even with the rise of this technology, the most important factors during the counts are weather, skill, effort, and scouting. Also, says one of our experts, tapes work on territorial birds, so have less utility then they would in the breeding season. And it’s important to recognize that the numbers recorded during the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey are way down from 30 or 40 years ago (with the exception of a few expanding species). So, even as the average skill and equipment level has exploded, the bird numbers decline.

Still, curious to hear what people think on this, and to what extent they used their mobile devices on the counts.