Dan's Gardening and Birding Blog: Bird Identification Websites and Apps

Welcome back.

The unbelievably warm December weather continues. Temperatures have been way above normal thus far this month. Last weekend the high temperatures are forecast to be in the sixties.

I have completed 5 weeks of counting as I am participating in Project FeederWatch again this year. So far this year, my counts have been lower than normal, both in the number of species and the total number of birds for each species. This is of course a direct result of the above normal temperatures.

In previous posts, I have covered in detail various projects one can participate in to help aid in bird research.

House Finch

Project FeederWatch

November 4, 2015 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/11/its-time-for-project-feederwatch.html). Project dates 11/14/15 to 4/8/16.

Christmas Bird Count

November 30, 2015 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/11/bird-watching-season-is.html). Project dates 12/14/15 to 1/5/16.

Great Backyard Bird Count

February 2, 2015 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/02/almost-time-for-great-backyard-bird.html). Project dates 2/12/16 to 2/15/16.

There are even others which I may cover in the future, including eBird (http://ebird.org/content/ebird/).

Bird Identification

There are various sources available regarding bird identification, both websites and phone apps.

First, some of the best websites:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478#). If you scroll down you will see a small search box underneath the heading "All About Birds". This is a great online bird guide that I have used frequently. An added bonus of this site is the links to various live bird webcams in Ithaca, NY, Texas, and Ontario, Canada.

Audubon Guide to North American Birds ( https://www.audubon.org/field-guide). Another excellent bird guide, the photos are striking.

Bird Apps (Free)

Merlin Bird ID App (http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/). This is available for both IOS and Android. Nice app with a bird ID wizard based on size, shape, etc.