I use Magix MP3 maker to edit calls that can come from CD sources and 
internet sources in  a variety of formats to remove identification voice 
description. I use a Sony high capacity minidisk rather than an I-pod. In 
addition I can record calls on the disks using a microphone although I'm 
sure that can also be done using the correct I-pod. Making your own lists is 
particularly useful for neotropical trips and those to other non-US areas. 
It's unfortunate that there is no North American equivalents to the DVD 
"Birds of Ecuador" which is designed to allow easy downloading to a portable 
MP3 device without voice identification and contains many more songs and 
calls for each bird than is typical of the Stokes and other  N.A. CDs.. One 
extremely useful web site is http://www.xeno-canto.org/ that collects 
recordings of songs and call from all over the Americas contributed by the 
precipitants. These can be freely downloaded into your device. A great place 
for exotica. While this kind of approach can be a little complicated one 
certainly learns a lot.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy Martin" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 6:43 PM
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Fw: birding tool


> Edward Boyd wrote:
>> You could do all that this program does on your own by building your own 
>> play lists. I'm not sure how to program the I-pod to block out the voice 
>> intros though, but I'm sure that you could Google it and find 
>> instructions on modifying tracks somewhere. On the other hand, I'm not 
>> sure how many hours you want to spend doing this, so it's up to you to 
>> figure out how much your time is worth..
>>
> I already had Stokes and various Petersen CDs on my computer, so I skipped 
> the Birdjam step and used an audio editing software called Wavepad to make 
> my own bird call tracks. I can open up a track in Wavepad, erase the 
> talking intro and edit the track to my liking before saving and 
> transferring to iTunes and than to the iPod.  This allows me to make 
> longer tracks of same call and avoids stopping and starting the Ipod as 
> much.
>
> As Ed Boyd states, making your own tracks does require an additional 
> investment in time but I do get to customize the calls to my liking. I 
> have made custom snippets only for the bird groups I am most likely to try 
> and call and skipped a lot of other groups such as herons, waterfowl, etc.
>
> I use an IMainGo portable speaker unit to broadcast calls and try hard to 
> comply with the ethics of using bird call recordings.
>
> Just Google Wavepad if your interested. There's a freeware and a purchase 
> edition ($38). I think the freeware version will allow you to edit Stokes 
> and Peterson Bird CD tracks but I have owned the the $38 version for so 
> long that I might be wrong.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Andy Martin
> Gaithersburg
> 
>