The RememBird

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The first digital audio recorder to have been designed by a birder, for birders. It can be attached to your binoculars to let you whisper your observations without taking your eye off the bird; record the bird's call to be saved on your computer and play recordings of hundreds of species from audio field-guides on plug-in memory cards.

Record Notes
RememBird's primary purpose is to complement your field notebook. By letting you whisper what you see, as you see it, you can take much more accurate notes, more quickly and without taking your eye off the bird for a second. This leaves you more time to watch or sketch the bird. The recorder fits beneath roof-prism binoculars and the recording controls are designed to be used whilst you are looking through the binoculars - even when wearing gloves. Press the button to record and release it when you've finished. The RememBird includes 32MB of memory onboard for recording - enough for several days recording of normal birding. For longer recordings you will need a larger MMC memory card (not included but widely available. When using an audio field guide there will be 200MB-200MB of additional memory on the audio Field Guide's memory card for your own recordings).

Record Bird-song
A second, forward-facing microphone lets you record the sounds made by whatever you are watching. While not as powerful or directional as the high-powered parabolic or "shot-gun" microphones used by professionals, the recorder does pick up most bird song and general ambient sounds. An innovative continuous "loop" recording mode means that the recorder is "Always Listening" and waiting for you to tell it to keep what it just heard - but without wasting space in its memory.

Play Audio Field-guides
Add on a pre-recorded library of hundreds of species that you can listen to in the field in a matter of seconds. Remind yourself what a target species sounds like or compare a mystery bird's call with the possible alternatives - without ever taking your eyes off it. You can also build and download your own audio field-guide. (Audio field guides are not included with the RememBird but are available from NHBS - see links below).

Software
The sophisticated software allows you to download, label, edit and make lists of your recordings. In addition you can save audio files in MP3 to make your own audio Field Guides. Runs on PC and Mac.

Reviews
`Is it worth it? Yes. It's great for recording on-the-spot details of sightings while at the same time helping you to get to grips with bird sounds.' - Dominic Couzens, BBC Wildlife Magazine

`RememBird is probably the cheapest single-device integrated mic and recorder combination that will make worthwhile recordings of bird song within binocular range in good field conditions. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into making it usable without looking at it, so you can keep your eyes on the bird.' - Richard Mudhar, Wildlife Sound Recording Society

`... this highly portable device is an asset in the field' - Birdwatch Magazine

`It seems likely to become a trusted companion on many a future birding trip.' - Dave Hatton, Birding World

`Designed 100% for birders, it would also be fantastic on safari, especially at night, for listening to the sounds of the bush. Elephants' rumbles, bush baby shrieks and leopard coughs would all come through beautifully' - Wildlife Extra

RememBird Specification
* Note-taking microphone records your observations
* 32MB built in memory
* Higher-gain microphone records bird-song
* Optional Audio Field-guides on removable memory
* Control recording with one thumb while watching the bird
* Weighs less than 50g (2 oz.) & uses a single AAA battery
* Attaches easily to most roof-prism binoculars
* Stores many hours of notes on removable memory
* Upload recordings to your Mac, PC or laptop in seconds

What's in the Box
* RememBird
* Instruction Manual
* CD with RememBird software, version 2.0
* Earpiece
* Single ear, mono ear-piece with a 1m cable terminated on a 2.5mm Jack plug. Swivel adjustable to suit either ear. Slider adjusts for size of ear.
* USB Cable
* 1m long, USB-A to USB mini-B 5-pin cable
* Wrist-strap
* 90cm loop (45mm drop) 4mm "boot-lace" nylon strap in dark green, with black adjuster bead and removable mobile phone/camera attachment with nylon loop for attachment to case.
* RememBird uses 1 AAA battery. Two batteries are supplied.
* Velcro Strips

We recommend:

The Sound Approach to Birding