Birding With Your Phone Workshop Program Report – 2/25/2023
Birding With Your Phone Workshop
Program report 2-25-2023, by Sarah Faulkner
Hartford Audubon was once again delighted to host Ken Elkins, Director of the Coastal Center at Milford Point for Connecticut Audubon, for our fourth annual program to explore the phone apps that support birding. With over thirty participants, Ken presented and discussed the apps below and answered questions. Ken noted that almost all the apps have more robust websites than what is found on the apps. Look to the websites for help options, keys to symbols, and more.
- Ebird – from Cornell University, phone app as well as website org
- Merlin – from Cornell University, phone app as well as website https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
- Birdnet – separate database/software than Merlin’s, from Cornell University plus other research organizations. Phone app as well as website. Based on citizen science, more accurate than Merlin. https://birdnet.cornell.edu/
- Online bird guides such as Audubon, Sibley’s II, iBird, and the Warbler Guide
- Bird, Plant, and other Nature identifying apps:
- Seek – developed by team with iNaturalist – gives identification answer immediately
- iNaturalist- Uses a very large database and is a learning app – can be useful for identification but use with caution. Has a worldwide database, shares photos with other naturalists, engages with others in the field, once something has been confirmed by two others, stores information in a large database.
- AllTrails – helpful to find your way in the field
- eButterfly – can be used to identify butterflies
- Plantnet – for plant identification
Here is a link to the Birding With Your Phone video recording