How to Instantly Increase the Number of Birds You Spot

Until I discovered Merlin, I wandered around feeling pretty clueless about what I was actually seeing. Sure, there were birds—winged creatures flying or hopping around—but what kind? Is that a sparrow? Or… another sparrow? A different sparrow?

Birding sounds simple: you go outside, you look for birds. Easy, right? Anyone can see birds. But identifying them? That’s a whole different story. Outside of the obvious locals, like Robins or Red-winged Blackbirds in my area, it quickly gets tricky. And don’t get me started on the ones hidden in the trees! Are you supposed to be looking for a tiny bird, a medium-sized bird, or maybe even a California Condor? Is it brown, red… or some other nondescript shade?

Enter Merlin, my birding lifesaver. Just turn on the app, let it listen to the birds, and—voila!—it identifies (mostly accurately) what’s nearby. It highlights the bird currently chirping and even shows a picture. And if that’s not enough, Merlin has an “identify the bird” feature, where you answer a few questions or upload a photo, and it gives you its best guesses. (Disclaimer: this part is hit-or-miss, but hey, that’s birding for you.)

Since adding Merlin to my birding toolkit, I’ve easily doubled the number of sightings each outing. It’s also great for helping you keep a complete checklist if you’re into tracking your finds.