Blog Change

After around 20 years of reposting the weekly New York Rare Bird Alert sightings to this blog, I've decided to remove the 600 or so entries. Let's face it, they were mostly just filler. There are so many other sources now available for this information, I think it's time for me to try and return to true blogging. I began this blog in 2004 and burned out a bit, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to get back to creating more interesting observational writing. In the meantime, here's a resource page for rare bird sightings. Also, here's the American Birding Association's Rare Bird Alert page. Finally, here's a woodcock from this weekend's timberdoodle-a-thon at Green-Wood Cemetery. It's one of seven I found for my Sunday early morning tour.

Goodbye Twitter, Hello BlueSky

For anyone who has been following me on Twitter (X), I have deleted my account. Like the millions of others fleeing the platform, I can now be found on BlueSky. If you haven't checked it out yet, I recommend it. The level of toxicity at the other place had become unbearable. Hope to see you over there. My new handle is @citybirder.bsky.social

"Hey there, Mr. Blue"
"We're so pleased to be with you"
"Look around, see what you do"
"Everybody smiles at you"

Green-Wood Cemetery Needs Our Help

There is a dangerous invader threatening the wildlife and habitats of Green-Wood Cemetery. In fact, the situation is potentially so dire, it could eventually affect the agriculture of all of the United States. I am referring to this lovely looking leaf-hopper, the Spotted Lanternfly:

Green-Wood Cemetery, Sweetgum Path - photo by Michelle Talich

This insect could have a devastating affect on New York's forests as well as the agricultural and tourism industries. More information from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is available here. If you encounter one of these insects, you should kill it. You should also report it and submit images, location, date, and any other pertinent observation info (number of individuals, behavior of individials, etc) to the NYS Integrated Pest Management Spotted Lanternfly Public Report. Here is a link. Cornell has a good page of information here.

For Green-Wood Cemetery internally, mapping the observations on iNaturalist is the easiest way for them to keep track of the sightings, their locations, and the progression of spread. Please join a few projects that are important tracking projects:

Green-Wood Cemetery: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/green-wood-cemetery-brooklyn-ny-projects
Spotted Lanternfly predation in the US: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/spotted-lanternfly-predation-in-the-u-s

To reiterate, if you see an adult and the (soon-to-be-seen) egg masses destroy them. Here is a link on how to destroy the egg masses. It's important to note that that adult female Spotted Lanternflies do not discriminate where they deposit there eggs. Egg masses can be found on almost any surface including vehicles! They are very effective hitchhikers! Finally, this website has some excellent advice on how to kill the adults and egg cases.

Some Dragonflies & Damselflies of Green-Wood Cemetery

Until the southbound bird migration begins to pick up steam, I've been looking at dragonflies and damselflies, lately. Below are some of my photos from Green-Wood Cemetery. If you are interested in learning more here's a link to a great website on the subject. Also, you can view and download a Checklist of North American Odonata here. As with my butterflies posting, I will update it over time as I observe and photograph more species. FYI - A really good field guide is Dragonflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Dragonflies of North America by Sidney W. Dunkle:

The bluets are a group of really tiny damselflies. Identification can sometimes be tricky. So far, I'm pretty certain that this brilliant blue damselfly is a Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile). They are fairly common around the Sylvan Water.

I took this photo of the large Common Green Darner (Anax junius) several years ago, so forgive the not so great quality. This widespread, common species is migratory.

Like all the other species in the "pennant" family, the Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) will perch on a single vertical piece of vegetation and wave in the wind like a pennant. Look for them around the edges of the ponds in Green-Wood.

The Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) is one of my favorite dragonflies in Green-Wood Cemetery. Also found around the edges of the ponds, their striking color and pattern is unmistakable.

Let's see...three black spots per wing, four wings. Yup, twelve spots on this Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella). Find them zipping around above the water at any of the ponds.

Here is both the female and male Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis). This species of LIBELLULIDAE dragonfly is common around the cemetery. They are mostly found near the ponds, but I've also seen them far from permanent bodies of water, usually by puddles after a rainstorm.

The Spot-winged Glider (Pantala hymenaea) is fairly new to me at Green-Wood Cemetery. Another migratory species, apparently not a lot is known about their movements.

The Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera), our smallest dragonfly, is extremely common around all the ponds in Green-Wood Cemetery. I've also been seeing them at wild bergamot patches, quite a distance from any water.

White tail: check. Virtually everywhere: check. Must be the Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia).

I've labelled this file as Red Saddlebags, but calling it Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) here. Honestly, not skilled enough yet to tell them apart. This piece describes the differences.

A Classic NYC Birding Book

My birding mentor was an iconic Brooklyn character named Marty Sohmer. Since passed, he was well known and loved within the local birding community. In addition to teaching me great identification tips and relating timeless birding anecdotes (plus really corny jokes), he told me about a great book on birding around New York City called "Enjoying Birds Around New York City". Published in 1966, the authors were Robert Arbib, Jr., Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. and Sally Hoyt Spofford. All three were very important ornithologists and conservationists in their own rights.

One of the best features of this publication is the section titled "A Bird Watcher's Calendar". Each month has a few paragraphs which describe the seasonal event one should expect to observe. As a scientist Mr. Arbib shows a surprising sensitive and poetic nature to his descriptions. The March section begins, "Often the month of hope denied". There is a similar section, "Calendar for a Big List of Birds" which recommends weekly locations to maximize one's year list of birds. This book has been out of print for a very long time. Fortunately I stumbled on a copy while in a used bookstore in (of all places) Chatham, MA. It's in great condition and think I paid $15 for it. I've seen used copies available online.

The title page makes it clear that this book wins the award for longest title ever. Thirty-nine words!

This is not just a book about where to bird in New York City, but also how to bird: seasonal fluctuations, habitat preferences, family groupings, species field marks & vocalizations, behavior, etc. There is also a brief discussion on resources, such as binoculars and field guides.

The species accounts may be a little dated with regard to some of the currently accepted common names. Harrier is listed as "Marsh Hawk", kestrel is "Sparrow Hawk" and American Crow is "Common Crow", to name a few. For me, that is minor given the quality of the pen and ink illustrations that accompany the species accounts. They really are beautiful.

Finally, in a world of Google Earth satellite images in the palm of our hands, I find the 17 hand drawn maps in the book to go beyond simple navigation tools. To me they are art and make having this 55 year old publication on my bookshelf worth it. Are there other birding books with good information? Certainly, but much of the information contained within its 160 pages are, unbelievably, still relevant and useful. As a bonus, it is also filled with lovely illustrations, "historic" hand drawn maps of birding hot spots and a peek into birding around NYC nearly 60 years ago. It would make a nice addition to anyone's birding library.

Spring Ear Birding Prep

This year the first day of Spring in New York City will be Saturday, March 20th. As an ear birder I always like to take a few days and refresh my brain by listening to the Peterson "Birding by Ear" bird-song identification guides. Whether new to bird vocalizations or a longtime aficionado, spending even a little time with the recordings to prepare for the waves of northbound songbirds is really helpful. If identifying birds by their calls and songs frustrates you, then now is the best time to start studying. With the right tools it much easier than you think.

There are several sources available to help you learn how to identify birds by ear, but the best I've found is the Peterson Field Guides series of CDs. These discs are not just reference recordings, but well organized lessons that use groups of similar sounding species, repetition and mnemonics to help you quickly learn sounds. Here on the east coast of North America you should purchase "Birding by Ear: Eastern/Central", as well as, "More Birding by Ear Eastern and Central North America". There are discs available for the west coast, too. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate digital downloads.

Below is a list of the tracks on which I recommend you concentrate. Obviously, there are many more common species in our area which you could add as you feel needed.

The colorful wood-warblers are the most important songbirds to learn. Once you've purchased the discs, use iTunes (or similar software) to import the following tracks:

Name	Album	Disc #	Track #
Sing-songers	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	1	4
Warbling Songsters	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	6
Wood Warblers & a Warbling Wren	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	1
Warblers: Buzzy	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	1
Warblers: Simple	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	2
Warblers: Two-Parted	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	3
Warblers: Complex	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	4
Empidonax Flycatchers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	1	4

Note that I included the empidonax flycatchers on the list as they are notoriously difficult to separate visually, but have very distinctive vocalizations.

The woodland thrushes are also incredible songsters, so I recommend the following tracks:

Name	Album	Disc #	Track #
Thrushes	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	2
Thrushes	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	1	7

One family of bird vocalizations that I tend to neglect are the shorebirds. More often than not, during spring migration a group of calling shorebirds passing overhead are noted only as "flock of unidentified peeps". While their calls and songs may not be nearly as melodic as the wood-warblers, they are each unique and easily identifiable if you take a few minutes each day to study the recommended "Birding by Ear" tracks.

Name	Album	Disc #	Track #
Shorebirds: Pairs	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	1
Shorebirds: Plovers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	2
Shorebirds: Whistlers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	3
Shorebirds: Peepers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	4
Shorebirds: Other	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	5

In case you were wondering, I don't make any money promoting the Peterson Field Guide series. I have just found that their systematic approach to learning bird-song to be the best available. Our local populations of birds, as well as, overwintering species have already begun to sing, so don't procrastinate. If you spend even just 20 minutes a day listening during your commute, by the time all the warblers begin streaming through NYC I guarantee you'll be able to find some birds with your eyes closed.

Green-Wood Cemetery Birding Map

In an attempt to make navigating Green-Wood Cemetery a little bit easier, I modified the existing official map that is available on the cemetery's website. Using 1855 and 1901 maps, which shows the names of the various landforms, i.e. ridges, hills and valley, I overlaid these landmarks on the current map. My reasoning was that most birders haven't a clue what the names of the roads are in places like Central Park and Prospect Park, but they do know the geographic labels.

The file is very large (9686 × 13200 pixels) so if you have access to a large format printer, it should look very good. Download the full-sized map here.

New Green-Wood Cemetery Bir... by citybirder

Low Carbon Birding

New York City Audubon has an excellent resource for birding around the five boroughs by public transportation. It's called "NYC Audubon Map & Guide to Birding by Subway". It is available as a download here or from below.

Binocular Gallery

While searching the Internet for a cutaway view of my Leica Trinovid binoculars I stumbled on Gary Hawkings' photo gallery of his binocular collection. The geek in me really enjoyed seeing some of these cool optics, but this one design had me scratching my head:

Made in England, it's called the Kershaw Sportsman. I'm not really sure how practical it would be to try and walk around with your vision magnified even by a small amount. Might be why they never caught on, although they are looking quite steampunk. Could we see a run on these puppies? You can pick up a pair on eBay and Etsy. Just sayin'.

Check out Gary's collection here.

There is also the Museum of Optics here.

Oneline Tides Resource

When shorebirding it's extremely useful to know the tide tables for a given location, i.e. when will the mudflats be exposed (or covered)? I found this very simple website for finding tides on the Gulf Coast, US East Coast and US West Coast. Here is a link to the New York area sites.

Shorebirding 101

I'm not an expert on shorebird identification. Any day now tens of thousands of these long distance migrants will stop to rest and refuel in our area. Like many birders around Brooklyn and New York City I find some of these species frustrating to ID and have to study up every year in preparation for the fall shorebird migration. In addition to the numerous excellent field guides that are available, one very good resource that I have relied upon is Jack Connor's "The Complete Birder: A Guide to Better Birding". Here is an excerpt from the chapter on shorebirds:

Five basic principles are especially important in shorebird identification:

1. Learn habitat preferences.

Like the 'song' in 'songbird', the 'shore' in 'shorebird' is something of a misnomer. Most shorebirds prefer marshes and wetlands to coastal shores and inland areas attract nearly as many species as saltwater areas. In fact, several species - upland and buff-breasted sandpipers, mountain and golden plovers, and others - are actually easier to find thousands of miles inland no where near the ocean.

2. Slow down and specialize.

Shorebirding requires a radical change of pace from other forms of birdwatching. Since only a handful of shorebirds are identifiable at a glance, it's seldom possible to reel off a string of identifications without hesitation. Ordinarily, a lot of work is involved, and there is much time for doubt. Urgency and impatience are mortal sins, dogged persistence the cardinal virtue.

3. Concentrate on standing birds.

Shorebirds fly fast; several species can cruise at seventy miles per hour. They also tend to fly erratically and evasively, twisting and twirling against the sun, into shadow, back against the sun. A few species (willet, black-bellied plover and a couple of others) are best identified on the wing, and shorebird experts can identify almost all species in flight. As a rule of thumb, however, less experienced shorebirders need not concern themselves with flying birds. Shorebirds spend the majority of their time with their feet on the ground. For most of us one shorebird on the ground is worth ten in the air.

4. Study the silhouettes. Postpone the plumages.

Most shorebirds are better identified by their shapes than by their colors. Their light browns, creamy buffs, and subtle grays tend to wash out in the harsh light of the open areas they prefer. Even more important, the seasonal changes of shorebird feathering are complex and variable. All species have at least three visibly distinct plumages.

5. Divide and conquer.

Identifying shorebirds is a sorting operation. Here more than with any other group of birds, the process of elimination is the key technique.


Six Questions for Sorting Shorebirds

1. Is it one of the instantly identifiable shorebirds?

There are a few shorebirds that are instantly recognizable because of distinct plumage pattern or some other physical characteristics like the bill on an avocet or skimmer. Instantly Identifiable: American Oystercatcher, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt.


2. Is it a plover?

The key components of plover silhouettes are: rounded, relatively thick-ish bills that are shorter than the length of its head; short necks; body lengths not much longer than body heights; and legs that appear roughly equal to the body heights. The plover silhouette is made of circles and soft curves. Plovers: Killdeer, Wilson’s, semipalmated, piping, black-bellied, American Golden.


3. Is it one of the odd sandpipers?

Five sandpipers are identified by their weird, eye-catching bills. The three curlews have long, curling bills and two godwits - God, what bills they have - up-swung, huge, and two-toned. The other three odd sandpipers are made easy by their exclusive habitat preferences. The woodcock is the only shorebird to be found under a closed canopy in deep woods. Two phalaropes, the red and the rednecked, are the only shorebirds regularly found far offshore. is point onward, the questions become tougher, and the distinctions blur. Odd sandpipers: Long-billed Curlew, Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, woodcock.


4. Is it a peep?

And most of the time most of us hope the answer is no. The term 'peep' is correctly applied to only six species, the sanderling and the five Calid-ris sandpipers that are smaller than the sanderling. They are clustered together in a all the field guides, but the fine distinctions required within the group make identifying the peeps one of the toughest problems in all birding. Peeps: sanderling, white-rumped, Baird’s, semipalmated, western, least.


5. Is it a longlegs?

Eleven sandpipers fit this description. They have legs that are noticeably longer than their body heights; body lengths noticeably longer than their body heights; and relatively straight bills that are at least as long as their head lengths and in most cases obviously longer. Most members of this group have long necks and a lanky look. The lesser yellowlegs is typical. Longlegs: Willet, Upland Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Snipe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Short-billed Dowitcher, Solitary Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper.


6. Is it a plump?

Ten midsized sandpipers have short necks and a chunky look. In specific contrast to the longlegs the plumps have legs that seem not noticeably long and in many cases much shorter than body heights; body heights nearly equal to body lengths (excluding the wings); and bills of various shapes but most obviously curved or noticeably shorter than head length. The ruddy turnstone and purple sandpiper are typical plumps. Since apparent leg length and body width can change with posture, "Longlegs or plump?" is sometimes a close judgment call, and a couple of species barely fit into one group or the other. Plumps: Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper.


Hopefully, the water level on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge will continue to drop and the mudflats will open up in time for the annual shorebird return. ...Read more

New Content

I've just added a new page of local birding organizations here. You can also access it from the contents in the right hand column.

New Blog Feature

I've just added a categories feature to the sidebar. This allows you to find all posts since 2004 based on various labels. For example, you can search for all postings by season. I decided that seasons based on meteorological criteria made more sense than astronomical dates:

Spring - March 1 to May 31
Summer - June 1 to August 31
Fall - September 1 to November 30
Winter - December 1 to February 28 (29 for leap years)

I may be adding other labels in the near future. Let me know if there is a category you'd like to see.

Trans-Gulf Migration Film

Here's a really good video about birds that cross the Gulf of Mexico twice each year to and from their breeding grounds. There is plenty of great footage of our favorite birds included, as well as, very interesting information about the evolution of these neotropic migrants. Be sure to watch it full screen:


Gulf Crossing from Jackson Childs on Vimeo.

Guitar Hero for Bird Songs

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created a new tool to help bird-watchers learn bird songs in a visual, as well as auditory, way. It's an online game that they call Bird Song Hero, an homage to the popular game Guitar Hero, which popularized the visualization and gamification of learning music (though what you learn isn't exactly a real instrument... But here, you get to learn to recognize real bird songs).

Bird Song Hero can teach you to recognize 50 different bird songs, and once you've learned them, help you practice your skills so you don't lose them. What makes this way of learning so powerful is that you not only train your brain to recognize the sounds, but you also train the visual parts of your brain with the use of spectrogram visualization. This increases your chances of committing the sound patterns to memory. Very cool.

Here's the intro video that shows you how Bird Song Hero works and gives you some examples:



Check out the Bird Song Hero website here. ...Read more

New Feature

I just added an eBird rarities gadget to the "Recent Sightings" page here.

Polar Vortex Visualized

Data visualizer "Earth" has a great interactive website for viewing various layers of Earth phenomenon. This is an animated gif of the current "Polar Vortex" gripping much of North America. Check out the website here.

Science Friday - Bird Migration

The NPR program "Science Friday" just did a timely piece about Fall migration. I recommend giving it a listen.

From their website:

September is peak season for the fall bird migration. Hummingbirds have already made the trip south while songbirds have been slow to move this year. Naturalist and author Kenn Kaufman shares tips on spotting different species and making your yard bird-friendly.

Produced by Alexa Lim, Associate Producer

Smartphone Apps

I've just updated the "Books & Media" page to include smartphone apps. The new section in the contents to the right is now called "Books, Media & Apps". Below is the list of apps that I think are really helpful when in the field. The descriptions are from the manufacturers webpages. Note that I've focused on iPhone apps, however, many of them also exist for the Android operating system. Let me know if you have any recommendations that aren't included on the list.

Smartphone Apps

Bird Field Guides

Audubon Birds
The award-winning Audubon Birds field guide with 820 species, gallery view for easy search, Find Birds powered by eBird, and NatureShare - a new community where birders can observe, identify, and share their observations and photos.

iBird Pro Guide to Birds
iBird Pro Guide to Birds is designed to satisfy the demanding needs of advanced birders and professional naturalists. It offers comprehensive identification, behavior, habitat and ecology information, twice as many search attributes as iBird Plus Guide to Birds, hand-drawn illustrations, professional photographs, range maps, and playable calls for 926 North American and Hawaiian bird species.

National Geographic Birds: Field Guide to North America
National Geographic presents an innovative, beautiful, and interactive field guide to the birds of North America with a new offering for iPhone/iPod touch. Whether you are new to bird-watching or already an expert, this completely updated and redesigned app makes spotting, identifying, and understanding birds easier than ever before. From its detailed illustrations to its easy-to-use interface, this is the one-stop resource you need to identify and track every bird you see.

Peterson Birds of North America
The official Peterson app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Peterson Birds gives you illustrations, birds songs, range maps, and nest photos for over 800 species of North American birds on your on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. More detail than any other mobile bird guide, with information from 8 Peterson Field Guide books, including the best-selling guide to birds in print, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.

Peterson Birds Pocket Edition - A Field Guide to Birds of North America
For nature lovers on a budget, Peterson Birds Pocket Edition packs in a lot of detail for a small price. With over 800 species of North American birds from the best-selling book, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, the app features Roger Tory Peterson's breathtakingly beautiful illustrations, range maps, species details, bird songs, and more. Now you can carry the full content of Peterson's field guide to birds of North America book in your pocket, wherever you go.

The Sibley eGuide to the Birds of North America
The most popular printed field guide to North American birds is now available in its entirety on the iPhone and iPad! We have taken the simplicity and ease-of-use that you have enjoyed on your iPhone/iPod Touch and expanded and redesigned the layout (not simply “stretching” it) to take full advantage of the larger screen area of the iPad while still being the same app that runs on the iPhone/iPod Touch.


Bird Songs

BirdTunes
BirdTunes provides bird enthusiasts with rapid, uncluttered access to a comprehensive collection of North American bird songs and calls.

The BirdTunes sound collection offers:

•Encyclopedic coverage, including over 2400 tracks for 674 species—over 10 hours of high fidelity sound.

**If you use BirdTunes (or any song playback) in the field, please do so responsibly. We recommend the American Birding Association’s Code of Ethics, particularly section 1(b), for guidance.


Botany Field Guides

Landscaper's Companion - Plant and Gardening Reference Guide
The most comprehensive plant guide on iPhone! Enjoyed by thousands of gardeners and landscape professionals world-wide, Landscaper's Companion is the #1 reference guide to all plants including trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials. Containing information on over 26,000 plants and 21,000 pictures, Landscaper's Companion makes an excellent resource for the casual gardener, professional landscaper, aspiring botanist, or anyone looking for a simple, easy to use plant guide.

MyNature Trees of North America
MyNature Trees of North America is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch. We are pleased to offer one of the first comprehensive field guides to Tree identification available with smart-phone technology. You will be able to identify over 190 trees with leaves or needles from Maine to California as well the Canadian Provinces with a touch the screen all in the palm of your hand.


Insects

Audubon Butterflies - A Field Guide to North American Butterflies
Audubon Butterflies features 627 butterflies of the U.S. and Canada. This guide contains in-depth, authoritative information based on the National Audubon Society’s "Field Guides to Butterflies," with updates by Rick Cech, a natural history author and one of the world's leading butterfly experts.

Audubon Insects and Spiders – A Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders
The indispensable reference for over 500 insects and spiders. Featuring comprehensive photos and in-depth descriptions. Audubon Insects and Spiders is your introduction to the most common species of insects and spiders in North America. Created in affiliation with the National Audubon Society, this app features in-depth information on 509 species with high-quality photos.


Learning

birdJam HeadsUp Warblers
Truly designed as a “field tool” for identifying North American warblers, HeadsUp Warblers provides exactly what you need in the field:

1. What does the bird look like?
2. What does the bird sound like?
3. Should it be here at this time of year?

These key elements are cleverly organized to allow fast comparison of species by sight, sound or range map. You quickly select species by glancing at photographs arranged by similarity. Or select birds by tapping a sound characteristic such as “buzzy” or “ascending.”

birdJam HeadsUp Sparrows

iKnowBirdSongs
Be a birder who can Identify birds by their songs. This app will teach you to recognize up to 371 species by their calls. It's an electronic flip card game with real calls and songs of North American birds. Includes 371 species of North American song birds each with high quality songs from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Larkwire Birdsong Basics: Land Birds of North America
A complete, game-based learning system for mastering bird sounds—designed for both beginners and advanced birders.


Logging

BirdsEye BirdLog -- North America
BirdLog is the first and only mobile data app for quickly and easily recording and submitting your sightings directly into eBird from the field! Forget about notebooks, pencils and sitting at your computer. Transform your bird sightings into eBird submissions to build your own lists while sharing your sightings and supporting conservation.

Birdwatcher's Diary
Birdwatcher's Diary™ is the perfect field companion for birders in any part of the world! In seconds you can record the birds you see or hear with time and exact location automatically recorded, and add additional field notes. From the field you can upload your sightings, complete with a map showing the location of each sighting, to eBird, Facebook, Twitter, a birding listserv, Dropbox, or email it to yourself or others. Birdwatcher's Diary is designed to be useful for your "big day" efforts, Christmas Bird Counts, and for your everyday birding outings alike. Fast and easy to use yet packed with advanced features, Birdwatcher's Diary will enrich your birding experience.


Misc.

Bird Codes
Are you looking for a way to speed up your field notes so you can focus on actually looking at birds? Do you see birders using codes for birds on listservs and want to look them up? Do you want to enter your eBird checklists faster? Alpha codes are four letter abbreviations assigned to bird species as a quick way to refer to them...

Moon Phase
Moon is a perfect resource to help you learn about the moon. Moon constantly updates a panel of information that tells you everything you want to know about the moon.

Tide Table
'Tide Table' displays tide prediction information for your current location and for selected locations on your mobile device. Tide prediction information is obtained from the public Tides and Currents web site maintained by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Tide predictions are not to be used for navigation.


Weather

AccuWeather - Weather for Life
Voted “Best iPhone App” by the 2012 Mobie awards, AccuWeather for iPhone now has popular features from our AccuWeather for iPad app, current conditions that refresh every five minutes, and more! Users tell us it is their “Go-to weather app.” From what to wear to how to travel, they say they, “Can’t live without it,” and it is, “Better than any other.”

Weather Underground
"The bar, as far as weather related apps are concerned, has been raised." –TapCentral.com, December 2011 The Internet's first ever weather site, Weather Underground has built a reputation for providing the most reliable and in-depth weather data for locations across the world. With our unique network of 30,000+ neighborhood weather stations our app provides the most localized weather information available. ...Read more

Official State Birds

The website "The Birdist" has a great piece on the 50 official state birds and what they think would be more appropriate. It's a funny piece that I recommend you check out: State Birds: What They SHOULD Be