As I’ve been spending more time outside this spring, I’ve only had one thought in my mind: “I wonder what kind of bird I hear singing?” Birdsong is the sound of the season for me, and a free iPhone app is adding even more color to the mystery.
Merlin Bird ID is a great free app for identifying birds by sound
There are a number of iPhone apps that can identify birds visually or aurally. However, many of these apps require a paid subscription.
My curiosity about the source of birdsong has not reached that level yet, but give it time.
Luckily, there’s a wonderful free iPhone app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that can solve the great mystery of spring: What kind of bird is singing?
Merlin Bird ID is available for free on both iPhone and Android, and for some reason it has a 4.9-star rating out of 109K reviews on the App Store.
How to Identify Birds in Your Backyard Using an iPhone
It combines your general location with the sounds of birds singing or chirping to help you identify what you’re hearing. You can also photograph a bird to tag it, although I mostly appreciated the Sound ID feature.
The part where it goes from curiosity to hobby is the life list feature of Merlin Bird ID. This lets you “collect” bird identifications based on date, location, and of course, type of bird.
For me, I’m still whipping out the app when I hear birds chirping as I try to remember the song and the type of bird. The next step is to invest in a Smart Bird Feeder Equipped with Camera Who can take pictures of birds.
In the meantime, I have the pleasure of getting better acquainted with some of the locals, like the American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Chimney Swift, House Sparrow and Fish Crow, to name a few.
You can learn more about merlin bird ID HereOr Download it from the App Store To free.
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