A sure sign of spring is the return of the birds. Migrating birds make their way north and with them comes warm weather. In spring, we all become bird watchers and I have some apps that will help you track and identify the feathered friends in your neighborhood.
I warn you, top bird watching apps are expensive. Perhaps the best one is the iBird Explorer Pro. costing $20 for Apple, Android and Windows mobile devices. This is very comprehensive, very detailed. It lists every species -all 924 – of them found in North America, Canada, Hawaii, and all coasts and islands. You can get regiona apps for localized parts of North America for $10.
You can save $5 bucks by instead getting Audubon Birds. It works on pretty much all mobile smartphones and tablets and comes from the Audubon Society. It offers color photos and even plays the chirps and tweets of the different species. There’s a map that shows where sightings have been in your area. And it links with the Nature Share online community to share different sightings.
One last app…a little cheaper. At $6, the National Geographic Field Guide for North American Birds offers a pretty good interactive guide for the iPhone and iPad. There are photos, identification helps and maps.