Read the bird’s nametag when it’s not looking. Wait patiently outside any bird conference and you’re sure to catch a coveted glimpse of a Sharpie-scrawled nametag. Write down your findings as quickly ...

I was recently creeping through a clearing of downed trees in a wooded Brooklyn park with my iPhone in hand. Birds were singing everywhere, but through the din, I was recording a peculiar song: It was ...

Connecting with nature is beneficial, even when you use technology to do it. And the barrier to entry is almost non-existent with the fun and free Merlin Bird ID app. I'm an expert in software and ...

Spring is here, and the air is full of birdsong. The Merlin Bird ID app tells you what type of birds you’re hearing … plus it’s quick, easy and free. With this software from the Cornell Lab of ...

I’m not a bird watcher, but I’ve become a bird listener ever since downloading a bionic ear app to my phone. It lets me enter a different world, one where I’m surrounded not just by chirping but by ...

Next to insects, birds sadly seem to get short shrift from humans. We remain powerfully drawn to scenes of lions hunting in the Kalahari desert or rhinos jousting in eastern India, but remain mostly ...

You’re walking in a natural area, and you see a little bird flitting around in the underbrush. You wonder what type of bird ...

I’ve become The Bird Guy to my friends and family. When they see a bird they don’t recognize, I’m asked to identify it with nothing more than a blurry photo. When the algorithms feed them bird-related ...

Charnita is a wife, pet mom, tech enthusiast, and part-time freelance writer with over 14 years of experience. She's done countless app roundups, product reviews, and tutorials! In her free time, she ...

Collins British Bird Identifier by Paul Stancliffe and Jeff Baker (HarperCollins, 2026).

Birding season has arrived, bringing with it many birds we have yet to identify. Birding apps are the solution, whether you're hearing an unfamiliar bird call or seeing a species you haven't ...