How to use the eBird Mobile App: A Beginner's Guide

[@JohnCallender]

Something I like to do is to tap the circled number toward the bottom of the species-entry screen, which causes it to limit the display to only the birds that I've entered so far. This is handy because I can easily see if I've already entered a bird, or if I want to tap the number area to increment the count when I see more individuals of a species I've already seen. You can also enter the number, a space, and then the 4-character bander code (or even just 3 characters of it, which is usually enough to filter down to show the species you want, which you can then tap on). Saves some tapping, which is helpful for getting my eyes back on the birds more quickly. Thanks for the great video!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Great tips as well!

[@spaceshantynow1851]

Thanks sharing this as I'm a new eBird user!

[@Kat57151]

Just downloaded this and I can’t wait to get started, thanks for the intro video!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

You’re welcome! Glad it was useful to you!

[@Beryllahawk]

So, new to all this as I am - I just learned that I have at least one of those blackbirds!! You're basically "next door" to where I live, and I hear that call A LOT. Always thought it was one of the neighborhood mockingbirds, haha! So cool to learn something like this. I definitely heard a black capped chickadee this morning, too. Mostly I hear them, because when all the songbirds are waking up for the morning, I'm still inside nursing a cup of coffee and telling my cats to hush :)

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Haha, cool! Those Mockingbirds do have quite the repertoire though!

[@bearybirding]

Awesome! You should also cover the breeding bird codes like S - Singing Bird or NB - Nest Building in order to help science. Also something to add is that you can type in breeding bird codes instead of the whole bird's name (e.g. AMRO instead of American Robin; EATO instead of Eastern Towhee). It really saves a lot of time!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

That's cool about the code! Didn't know that. And we may do something about the codes talking about the breeding bird atlas or just an informative vid! :) Thanks for the suggestion!

[@xx_theartfuldodger_xx1105]

As a new birder, that Merlin app is great for the sound IDs

[@BadgerlandBirding]

It’s known for being inaccurate at times so always make sure to confirm what it’s telling you!

[@ShawninAZ]

I really enjoyed this. No I haven’t used it but I’ll definitely use it now! Thanks so much for another great video!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bloomins8088]

This pokemon go spinoff looks dope. Lol, I'll have to download this app. :)

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Haha, let us know what you think!

[@brandonriley296]

Do you have any tips to help learn different bird calls? I always need to use Merlin but I want to be able to get to a point where I don’t need to rely on it as much

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Part of it is just hearing calls and tracking the birds down and learning them over time, but the Merlin app has a feature where you can go to the species profile and listen to the calls. If you’re on the search for specific species I would recommend going through those calls before you go looking. You could also just do some training every day or look up the pneumonic devices to help as well. It’s just like anything else where you can train it or just learn as you go.

[@seanneilson2]

nice video. thanks! would you considering doing a tutorial on the desktop version?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Got you! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnLOlKKaeZagbLMsi=aXDQuZzMZPlenvYv

[@22mgoose]

Use the app every day!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Great!

[@johnhartley3596]

I use eBird each time I bird. Great app. I didn’t know what my life list was until I uploaded years of data from my old field guides. Suggest you do a similar video for using Merlin.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Coming soon!

[@YvonneSebastian1980]

Thank you!.. you addressed some of my stupidity.. lol.. tyvm❤️☮️

[@BadgerlandBirding]

It’s not stupidity! Just learning :)

[@ken4edwards]

I am currently in the middle of China. I use Merlin but it often can't get an ID from the sound. I was hoping eBird could, but it seems it does not have that option. Please let me know if there is a way to get an ID from sounds that I do not know about. Thanks

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Do you have the correct pack downloaded for Merlin in that area of China?

[@jacobstreets8445]

Cool video. Thanks

[@BadgerlandBirding]

You’re welcome!

[@DailyDoseOfWildlife-p6z]

Is it recommended to use this while watching bird feeders or only in a regular birding walk?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Either! Basically any time you want to make an eBird report

[@DailyDoseOfWildlife-p6z]

@@BadgerlandBirding okay 👍

[@firehawk46064]

what is your opinion of the merlin app vs e bird?

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Merlin is more for identification and EBird is more for reporting/looking at reports. Both good, but for different things.

[@ronalvey103]

I’d like to use the app for finding a particular species, in my area.I don’t see how to do this in the app. The app seems useless.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

The app is limited to mostly reporting species. Use eBird on your computer for looking up where particular species are: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnLOlKKaeZagbLMsi=fm3wcsBudV1swZiL

[@ronalvey103]

@@BadgerlandBirding Thank you very much. That is good to know.

[@pauraque]

I would also recommend clicking the down arrow at the top right hand side of the screen before putting your phone in your pocket. That way you don't accidentally report any species. I think I reported a bufflehead while hiking on a mountain once 😅

[@BadgerlandBirding]

"Sorry, accidentally pocket-listed a Bufflehead" 😂

[@Duclosxrp]

Love ebird.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

👍

[@cyrus.cycocy.7974]

That’s a lot of unread emails 😅

[@BadgerlandBirding]

We’re not gonna talk about it

[@JohnCallender]

Heh. I've got 33,878 unread emails on my phone. I win! :-)

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@JohnCallender I'm waiting for the person with 100,000 + to chime in, haha

[@shaunistarbuck9992]

I’m so confused. I am just trying to find owls and if I type in owl it can’t find it. All the species look like they are in a different language. I’m new to bird watching and really just want to see some owls 😅

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Do you have a different language set?

[@shaunistarbuck9992]

@@BadgerlandBirding I don’t see any where to change the language. If I click on one of the species is shows me what it is in English. Is it coding? In the video it was in English the whole time. That’s why I’m confused.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@shaunistarbuck9992 click on the three lines on the top left, go to settings, and then see if Common Name Language is English.

[@shaunistarbuck9992]

@@BadgerlandBirding THANK YOU! That solved it!

[@shankardasgupta9890]

♥️

[@birdman5223]

Non user so far😉

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Any particular reason why? :)

[@KarenJohnson-m8o]

Davis Joseph Thomas Michael Hernandez Betty

[@Javaman92]

So this app is for professionals who can recognize these birds easily and who are out walking. It's not for people sitting in their easy chair looking at the bird outside their window. Got it...

[@BadgerlandBirding]

No…it has a feature that identifies bird songs so you can learn them and see their range and look at their pictures. How is that only for professionals?

[@Javaman92]

@@BadgerlandBirding isn't that Merlin that does that? I do give weight to your thoughts that the app isn't just for professionals. But it seems like it's meant for accurate field data. I worry about not being able to give them good data. If I only cared about myself I guess I would use it however I wished.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@Javaman92 ah you’re right, I thought this was a different video. But you can still use eBird to track your sightings. You don’t have to report everything you see, so you can only report birds you’re sure you saw, or just use it to track whatever is in your backyard.