What is RememBird?

Always Listening

Once RememBird is on, it records all the time. It's like having an eight second loop of tape that it records to over and over again. So when that really rare woodpecker (I think you know the one we mean) flies over and calls just once - even though you were watching a warbler at the time - your RememBird will have recorded the call. As long as you press the song record button within eight seconds, the recording will be kept for posterity.

Regardless of how rare the bird is, there are times - especially when birding abroad - that we hear something we can't immediately put a name to. Having a recording to refer back to can really help to clinch identification later - whether you sit down and review confusion species using the audio field-guide or you're able to play it to a local expert.

Rarity reports are a lot more credible if they are accompanied by a sound recording - and not just for the various Chiffchaffs and Crossbills for which a recording is crucial to making an identification. If you don't have a track record of submissions, or are birding abroad and have to convince another rarity committee, a sound recording can make all the difference between acceptance and rejection. The sonogram above is of a Pectoral Sandpiper found in Spain and recorded on a RememBird.

History of RememBird

The original RememBird was launched at the British Birdfair in August 2006.

The "Mark II" was introduced in 2010 - with more memory, audio field-guide as standard and support for external microphones.