Birding Apps (1 Viewer)

I would like input on what birding apps, if any, are best. I have an Android phone and a Kindle Fire, so would like the app to be available on both devices if possible, although I will mostly be using it on my phone. My husband and I saw a new bird today and fortunately even though we were out in the woods, there was still internet available.....we will, however, be taking a trip in June to a location where cell service is spotty and there is no internet, but there are lots of birds (many of which will be new to me). Cost isn't too terribly important, but would like the most app for my money. We are in West Virginia and mainly travel in the Eastern US.

Thank you in advance!

I like iBird, they have various editions available depending on what all you need. Just google them, or look for them in the playstore.

I own most of the North American birding apps--including iBird--but the one I go to most often is the Sibley.

What about apps by country.A british app is what I would require.

paulboyowhite said:

What about apps by country.A british app is what I would require.

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There are no apps for Android that I would recommend for Britain or Europe, no idea why one hasn't been produced given the available market. I've two great apps for North America and one for Australia so it can be done.:C

I downloaded the Audubon's Birds of North America app. It was $2.99, but it has pictures, descriptions, range, and also has small sound clips of songs and calls for each bird. You can also do an advanced search for birds in your area by month. There's also an option to download all of the files for offline use, which is nice if you're out and lose signal.

paulboyowhite said:

What about apps by country.A british app is what I would require.

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Birds of britain and birdtrack are very good

Lisa W said:

I like iBird, they have various editions available depending on what all you need. Just google them, or look for them in the playstore.

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I like Peterson and Chirp on my iPhone.

Mike

paulboyowhite said:

What about apps by country.A british app is what I would require.

Click to expand...

They have iBird UK & Ireland but its cost $14.99 US on the Apple store.

Mike

For UK birding...

Birdtrack is essential
ispiny's 'British Birds' is the best quick-check-in-the-field app
Birdguides 'Birds of Britain Pro' is pricey, and clunky as an app, but does have detailed text from text accounts from the Concise edition of Birds of the Western Palearctic
The Birdguides app is useful for those of a twitching disposition

... and, generally, twitter is pretty useful - lots of people use if to report their sightings

Suffice it to say that there are more apps for iPhone than Android. Peterson and a few others are iPhone only. Sibley's is the most expensive of them and you will have to scan through the bit you can to see if it is worth the price for you. One of the comments on the Sibley app is that is it not so user friendly and takes up a lot of space. I can't remember if that app needs internet to work or not - not good in the field if it needs internet or WiFi. There is at least one app that needs a connection to work.

I have Audubon, but it requires you to create an acct initially and wanted more information to do so than I wanted to give. iBird Pro has been my app of choice for Android so far. It takes a bit to download, but can be used in the field without WiFi or internet service at all. It has songs and calls and offers some photos as well as drawings. It has some issues as far as being user friendly, but they are minimal & supposed to be corrected in the next update.

Apps are not a suitable replacement for an actual field guide in my estimation ( none of the apps are), but are helpful to confirm a call or ID at times. I think the Audubon app tries to tie in with sightings on eBird, but I have not found that to be of value nor up to date. Audubon app has nice photos & calls, but iBird Pro has been a better app for me.

The problem with creating the birding apps form android, straight from the developers themselves, is that the Android platform has so many varieties out there and is always changing - hard to make an app for that. They consider the IOS platform much more stable in terms of changes. Form those who are on Facebook, there is a group called Birding Apps.and the actual developers do participate and answer questions. If you scroll back through the posts, many questions have been asked & answered. It is a good way to get a heads up on apps that go on sale as well, because the developers post the sales themselves.