At your fingertips
When I was asked to write a roundup of today’s best smartphone apps for birders, I had little idea what I was getting into. Sure, I had used eBird and iBird Pro and had heard of other apps, but that didn’t prepare me for the breadth of mobile birding tools available — or the remarkable capabilities of each.
I quickly discovered that it’s an “app-eat-app” world out there. Several major apps that were popular only a few years ago have been consigned to the electronic dustbins of history. At the same time, talented programmers have created dozens of new birding tools that cater to almost every conceivable niche location and interest, from birding Central Park or Washington State to translating banding codes and quizzing yourself on species.
Bottom line: Even in limiting myself to the major, most useful apps aimed specifically at birders, it would be impractical to cover them all in one flyover. As a result, I’ve opted for a two-beaked approach: A future review will focus on apps that mainly help birders learn bird calls and ID birds by song, while this review will tackle a birder’s bread and butter — field guide and listing apps.
Let the feathers fly!
BIRDING ESSENTIALS: EBIRD & MERLIN BIRD ID
It’s hard to overstate the importance and beauty of the two
