                        U.S. Birds
                  by Dr. Kenneth Buchholz

         A Microsoft Access Database Application

                     Shareware $20.00


U.S. Birds is a life-list application for bird watchers in
North America & runs on Microsoft Access 1.1.  You MUST have
MS Access in order to use this database.

The format of the database is quite simple:  The screen
contains 2 zones.  The top zone lists both the common name and
the scientific name of a species, as well as its group and the
date the observer first observed the species.  There is also a
reference page number for easy access of the species
description in "A Guide to Field Identification: Birds of North
America" by Robbins, Bruun, Zim and Singer, Golden Press, New
York.  The U.S. Birds database contains ALL species listed in
this reference.

The lower zone of each screen contains observations for each
sighting.  For each observation you enter the date, state and
locale of the observation, sex(es) observed (male, female,
both, immature) and free-text observations.  The observation
records are sorted in descending date order so that the most
recent observations are displayed first.

U.S. Birds is setup for 600 x 480 resolution screens or greater
and although the screens are colourful, the colours selected
also display quite well on monochrome screens, especially on
laptop LCD displays.

This shareware version of U.S. Birds contains a limited subset
(100 species) of all of the species in North America (737 species).
Upon receipt of the shareware payment of $20.00 (US), you will
receive a disk containing the full U.S. Birds database containing
all 737 of the North American species as well as an expanded set
of reports. I hate to release a partial application like this, but
my previous experiences with shareware makes this a necessity.
(For example, my Contacts database had 597 downloads from CompuServe
and I received NO shareware payments.)

If you decide you like U.S. Birds and plan on using it, I
request that you remit $20.00 (US), payable to me, at:

                    Dr. Kenneth Buchholz
                    The Washington Towne Crier BBS
                    520 Hawks Bill Place
                    Simi Valley CA 93065

If you would prefer downloading the full U.S. Birds database
application after payment rather than waiting for U.S. Snail
(Postal Service) delivery, I can set up an account for you on
The Washington Towne Crier BBS (805-527-4502; 805-527-4506) &
you can download it as well as any other of the over 1,000
files available online free.  WTC is a free, public-access BBS
so please feel free to call and use it!  The shareware fees
from U.S. Birds go toward supporting this $FR.EE BBS.


Installation
------------

Installation.  Copy the enclosed file USBIRDSW.MDB to your hard
drive.

Using USBIRDS
-------------

From your Windows desktop, open USBIRDSW or run Microsoft Access,
select OpenDatabase and then select USBIRDSW.  An autoexec macro
takes you immediately to the main screen whenever you open this
database.

Upon entering USBIRDSW, you will note that the screen contains two
(2) areas, one atop the other.  The top, blue (for color display
users) lists Common Name, Scientific Name, Reference Page (to the
text cited above), Group, First Observation Date and Lifelist.
If you move your mouse pointer to the far, lower left corner, you
can use the scroll bar to move from species to species.  As you do,
the Common Name, Scientific Name, Ref Page, Group, First Observation
Date and Lifelist fields will be filled-in automatically.  Since
this is a new database, First Observation Date and Lifelist fields
are empty for ALL species - YOU need to complete those fields as
your lifelist of species observed grows.

The Lifelist field is made available for those who already have
paper-based lifelists but who may not have their First Observation
Date recorded (or remembered).  Thus, you may enter an X in this
field even though you do not know your First Observation Date for
the species.  Of course, you only record Lifelist once per species.

There are also two Find commands (Find Species and Find Group) in
this top area of the form.  If you wish to find a specific species,
you can either use the far, lower left scroll bars to scroll through
each species until you find the one your looking for (slow) OR
use the Find Species pick list (far faster).  The Find Species
pick list lists ALL 737 species available in the full USBIRDS
database.  [Please note:  This shareware version, USBIRDSW, contains
ONLY the first 100 species of the full database!]

Each species also has a Group designation.  The Find Group button
allows you to go to the first species in a selected group.  ALL
groups are listed under Find Group and this provides a faster way
to hone-in on a particular group of birds.

The lower, yellow area is the Observation Notes area.  In this area
you can record notes about your observations of a species.  You may
enter the observation Date, State abbreviation and specific, textual
Location description as well as the Sex (Male, Female, Both, Immature)
of the observation.  In addition, there is a free-text field for
Notes on your observation.  [Note that in both Location and Notes
fields, when you place your cursor in the field, a vertical scroll
bar appears to allow you to scroll up/down through lengthy text.]

Two Observation Notes records are visible at one time, and they are
sorted in descending date order (most current observation first,
oldest observation last).  The vertical scroll bar running along
the right side of this subform allows you to scroll through
observations quickly.

About The Display
-----------------

USBIRDS was designed for use on a color display as well as on a
laptop computer.  Many avid birders, such as my wife and me, have
a portable computer we take on our trips.  Having USBIRDS available
in the field is wonderful - and almost justifies purchasing a
laptop by itself!  [Please note:  If you do a lot of seaside or
marshland bird watching, purchase a waterproof laptop...]


Concluding Remarks
------------------

I would love to have your constructive feedback for future upgrades
to USBIRDS.  I continue to work on improvements and additional
features, and am currently busy of a series of reports, such as
Lifelist, Bird Lists by State, etc.  These reports, as well as the
full USBIRDS database listing 737 North American species (including
ocassionals), will be sent to you on disk upon receipt of your
shareware payment.

Please honor the shareware concept.  I have put a lot of effort
into this database, and continue to do so, and would appreciate
the financial support.  All proceeds go toward supporting the
FREE, public-access BBS - The Washington Towne Crier BBS.  Please
feel free to call WTC for the latest versions of USBIRDS, and
take advantage of over 1,000 files online for downloading.

                                 Dr. Kenneth Buchholz
