topic Re: Identifying birds in Community Chat

Identifying birds

Fizzy3 — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 23:34:06 GMT

Just came across this easy and excellent way to identify all the birds in your county.

Go to allaboutbirds dot org and on the left side, click on the Try Birds Near Me link.

There are filters for time of year, color, and behavior and you will be able to see the male and the female, plus listen to their call/song.

I love birds and have never both seen and heard them at the same time, so this is incredibly helpful and I'm thankful the Cornell Ornithology Lab came up with it!

Re: Identifying birds

Sansun — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:13:39 GMT

Thanks for sharing.

Re: Identifying birds

occasionalrain — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:25:32 GMT

@Fizzy3

Perfect timing. Today a bird was at my feeders that I didn't recognize.

Re: Identifying birds

Ainhisg — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:36:48 GMT

Easier way than that...download the Merlin app, record the birds, and it will identify every one by their calls. You can also upload a pic of the bird from your phone, and it will identify the bird and show you the male, female, and juvenile.

Re: Identifying birds

drizzellla — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:55:13 GMT

@Ainhisg wrote:
Easier way than that...download the Merlin app, record the birds, and it will identify every one by their calls. You can also upload a pic of the bird from your phone, and it will identify the bird and show you the male, female, and juvenile.

My husband has the Merlin program downloaded on his phone.

When we walk in the park it shows all the different birds that the program hears. Sometimes it listed 6 or so birds. Amazing it can distinguish that many birds at one time.
But it seems like in the early morning the birds have alot to "talk" about.

Re: Identifying birds

Fizzy3 — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 02:04:07 GMT

BTW, I only access the Internet via my laptop so the website is great for anyone who connects the same way.

Re: Identifying birds

Oznell — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 02:07:07 GMT

Thank you for so thoughtfully posting, @Fizzy3 ! I went there and typed in my county. It was fun going through the birds, and playing their calls. Hubby knew so many of their sounds when I quizzed him, grrr!

It's really helpful when they post the males and females side by side, esp. when they look so different from each other, as in the Indigo Bunting.

The Cornell Ornithology Lab is one of the many great things about Ithaca, New York.

Re: Identifying birds

occasionalrain — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 02:26:27 GMT

It was easy and the bird in question is a Scarlet Tanager.

Re: Identifying birds

Bonkers1 — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:33:15 GMT

This site is fantastic. I just used it to identify a totally red bird in my area called a Summer Tanager. Thanks so much.

Re: Identifying birds

Pecky — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:36:01 GMT

@Ainhisg wrote:
Easier way than that...download the Merlin app, record the birds, and it will identify every one by their calls. You can also upload a pic of the bird from your phone, and it will identify the bird and show you the male, female, and juvenile.

@Ainhisg Is it free?

Re: Identifying birds

Ainhisg — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:37:26 GMT

@Pecky yes!

Re: Identifying birds

Still Raining — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 14:33:24 GMT

DD and I seem to default to LBB (little brown bird) for a whole lot of juveniles 🐦‍⬛

Re: Identifying birds

Fizzy3 — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:28:17 GMT

I'm glad to hear that this website has been helpful and fun.

Thanks for the interesting info and recommendations as well.

Re: Identifying birds

QVCisFun — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 08:16:24 GMT

Thanks for the information on the bird website and the bird phone app.

Speaking of birds, thought this would be a good place to mention The Big Year, a non-fiction book written by Mark Obmascik. It is about an annual year-long event where birders compete to identify the most species of birds, and 1998 was the biggest year in bird watching history. It was later made into a movie titled The Big Year. I read the book first and later saw the movie. I enjoyed them both immensely.

The book:

The movie:

Re: Identifying birds

PJinIA — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:20:31 GMT

@Ainhisg wrote:
Easier way than that...download the Merlin app, record the birds, and it will identify every one by their calls. You can also upload a pic of the bird from your phone, and it will identify the bird and show you the male, female, and juvenile.

I use the Merlin app too and the "sound id" feature is really helpful in identifying the calls when you can hear the bird but can't see it.

Re: Identifying birds

songbird — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:11:57 GMT

@Ainhisg I do that. I found my favorite bird call the "cheer, chee' of the Cardinal.

Re: Identifying birds

ROMARY — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:29:45 GMT

Thank you........For several years I've been wondering the name of a bird that have a beautiful melody type of song they sing to one another. Back and forth, back and forth.

Even during the night !!

Maybe I will find that bird on your suggested website.

Re: Identifying birds

Pecky — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 22:36:38 GMT

I downloaded the app this weekend and it is wonderful! I had the sound on and it caught 6 birds in my area at that moment. Thank you!!

Re: Identifying birds

Tinkrbl44 — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:15:16 GMT

Not to derail this thread, but I have to ask ...

How would you identify a really peculiar insect/bug you'd never seen before?

I'm sort of concerned about how toxic or even poisonous it could have been. There must be more around here.

TIA.

Re: Identifying birds

Pecky — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:29:39 GMT

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

Not to derail this thread, but I have to ask ...

How would you identify a really peculiar insect/bug you'd never seen before?

I'm sort of concerned about how toxic or even poisonous it could have been. There must be more around here.

TIA.

@Tinkrbl44 I have seen apps for insects as well.