Birdeez Launches from UCSB to Change the World – SB Audubon Society

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Thomas Kuo

Birdeez Team Launching Into Action to Change the World!
Left to Right – Thomas Kuo, Jeff Simeon and Patrick Toerner.

El Tecolote Logo - Santa Barbara Audubon SocietyA version of this article originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Audubon Society‘s news letter – El Tecolote for June-July 2013.

If numbers are to be believed, only a quarter of those reading this sentence can identify birds. The US Fish and Wildlife Service reports that 74% of people who watch birds can identify fewer than 20 species by sight. We at Birdeez hope to change that and, in the process, change the world.

Birdeez is an iPhone app, but you can think of it as the un-iBird. Instead of being an encyclopedia, we built Birdeez to be the easiest app for anyone to pick up and start learning local birds. The app knows where you are and what birds are near you at any given time of year.  Enter a bird’s shape, size and color and you’ll get a short list of birds that match. You can even save your bird sightings right in the app. We designed it to help anyone from 7 to 70 years old learn their birds. By connecting more people to the birds around them, we hope to create the next generation of environmental stewards. Continue reading →

Meet the Birds of Eyes in the Sky

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I got to meet up with the Eyes in the Sky program at Santa Barbara Natural History Museum last week. Here are four of their educational birds and docents.

Here are the birds by name, species and handler!

  1. Kanati, a Male American Kestrel. Handler Chris.
  2. Athena, a Barn Owl. Oops! I forgot her handlers name! Sorry.
  3. Ivan, a Red-tailed Hawk. Handler David.
  4. Kisa, a Peregrine Falcon. Handler Carolyn.

We’ve got a project in the works with Eyes in the Sky. More info on that to come.

Birdeez Bird Father of the Year: The Great-Horned Owl

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Not all bird fathers invest in their family, but this Father’s Day we’d like to take a look at one HOO does.

Great-Horned Owl Mom and Chick waiting for Dad to Return

Great-Horned Owl Mom and Chick waiting for Dad to return with food. Photo by Ken Bosma

The Great-Horned Owl dad puts in an epic effort every nesting season. Great-Horned Owls are one of the earliest breeding birds in North America. They start nesting in January or February, meaning that in many places the eggs could freeze if left unattended. Mom needs to stay on the nest and Dad needs to bring home the squirrel, or mouse, or rat, or even skunk! Great-Horned Owls are the only bird that regularly feeds on skunks. Yum!

But it doesn’t stop there…

Continue reading →

Slate is WRONG – Bird Apps are great for kids and birds!

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A Slate article posted yesterday “Birding Applications: Great For Kids, Bad for Birds?” has a title that is misleading at best, and at worst an outright lie. Strong words, I know, but I think warranted because getting children outside and learning is an imperative for society and a focus of ours at Birdeez.

Jason Bittel begins with a sentiment we can agree with:

Getting kids into nature is a tough sell today. Inside, we have computers, televisions, video games, and climate control. Outside, there are mosquitoes, sunburn, and poison ivy. Of course, these two worlds are not inherently incompatible, and smartphones are starting to provide a link between them.

After that point, children completely fall out of the article. There are no children with smartphones running amok destroying birds with their apps. Continue reading →

Birdwatching Goes High-Tech with Birdeez – NoozHawk

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Showing off the Birdeez App at NoozHawk - Photo by Lara Cooper

Showing off the Birdeez App at NoozHawk – Photo by Lara Cooper

Noozhawk LogoI recently had the chance to sit down with Lara Cooper at NoozHawk, a local Santa Barbara news agency, and talk about the big update to Birdeez and the direction we’re going. It was a lot of fun, as is the article!

I really like the subtitle:

Entrepreneur gives even novices an edge in identifying winged wonders

Only problem, it should say Entrepreneurs! This is not a one man show. There is no Birdeez without the talents and skills of Thomas Kuo and Patrick Toerner.

Read the rest of the Birdeez story from NoozHawk.

Birdeez a “Feather in the Cap” – UCSB’s Technology Management Program

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TechnologyManagementProgramLogoWe’re very excited for the future of the Technology Management Program (TMP) at UCSB. They are now going to be offering Master’s Degrees, and they gave us a shout out in their announcement:

Joined onstage by a live falcon to help prove their product, the team of UC Santa Barbara alumni behind bird-identification app Birdeez took a top award at last fall’s DEMO conference, a prestigious Silicon Valley pitch competition.

So landed another proverbial feather in the cap of UCSB’s Technology Management Program (TMP). The Birdeez group –– at the time still students –– won TMP’s New Venture Competition mere months earlier, earning acclaim and cash to go with their potentially viable business. Future TMP-bred winners of the popular campus start-up contest may walk away with another prize still: a master’s degree.

Read the rest about this innovative program that launched Birdeez on UCSB’s Website, or the Santa Barbara Independent.

UCSB Grads Create Winning App Birdeez – SB Independent

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Santa Barbara Independent LogoEmiyl Carlson at the Santa Barbara Independent did a great write up about the team at Birdeez and our origin through UCSB. Our company is EcoLek, but for now we’re focusing bringing disruptive change to the birding market.

Their first project: an intuitive smartphone app that allows you to describe, identify, and catalog any and all bird sightings in your area, appropriately named Birdeez.

Read the rest on Santa Barbara Independent’s “For the Birds”.

Birdeez is a Startup HERO! – Startup America Partnership

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suap-logoWe are very honored to announce that the Startup America Partnership (Startup America), has named Birdeez one of their Startup Heroes! Startup America ran the contest that Birdeez won to attend DEMO Fall 2012 and gave us the chance to win the DEMOgod Award. We’re super thankful to have their support and look forward to working with them in the future!

Birdeez is an iPhone app that makes it quick and easy to identify birds, then collect and share your sightings. Today’s featured startup, EcoLek, launched Birdeez at DEMO Fall 2012 and went on to win a DEMOgod award for their innovative product and presentation. A DEMO first, the Birdeez team was accompanied on stage by a live falcon for their presentation. (Watch the video below). Learn more about how and why this Startup California startup makes bird watching simple and mobile from its founder, Jeff Simeon.

Read the rest from my interview on the Startup America Website (s.co).

Thomas Kuo ECE Ph.D. and DEMOgod – UCSB

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UCSB ECE LogoThomas got a great shout out today from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) at UCSB. And why shouldn’t he? He’s finishing excellent research in computer vision AND winning DEMOgod awards with us at Birdeez.

A team of UC Santa Barbara students including ECE Ph.D. student, Thomas Kuo, has landed a DEMOgod award for their app “Birdeez” at the DEMO, The Launchpad for Emerging Technology and Trends, Fall 2012 competition.

Read the rest on UCSB’s ECE website.