oh chickadee mcsea books

Book Reviews

Book review: Oh, Chickadee

I’m an avid birder, everyone knows that… but what most don’t know is that I will soon be a parent, too. Oh, Chickadee flies in at the right time.

Sound Devices MixPre3 II with a shotgun microphone

Gear Reviews, Reviews

Recording birds with the MixPre-3 II

I recently upgraded from the Zoom H4N to the Sound Devices MixPre-3 II recorder for my bird recording hobby. This post is from the casual hobbyist perspective and will give share my initial experience with the device and a few recordings I’ve captured.

mockingbird with computer vision overlay

Gear Reviews, Main Feed

Birding with the Canon R6

In what I can only describe as “computer vision” the way Canon’s new mirrorless cameras can focus on subjects is truly impressive. The new Animal Eye Autofocus feature detects the eye on an animal subject and locks its focus onto it as it moves through the frame. Rather than being restricted to limited focal points it can detect and focus on subjects all throughout the frame. It’s not perfect, and certainly works better under some conditions rather than others

iphone using merlin's sound id

App Reviews, Featured, Guides, Main Feed

Identify bird songs using your phone with Merlin

If you could take three things with you when you go birdwatching, what would they be? Binoculars, a camera, and a smartphone would be my answer. Over the past few years, new phone apps have enabled birders, both rookie and seasoned, to better identify and record what they see in the field. The Merlin App has led the way in offering a robust tool to identify unknown birds.