Backyard Birding Made Easy With App

Nearly all of us here in the Hamptons walk outside and hear birds singing and chirping. That is, if we take the time to listen.

Have you ever wondered what kind of birds you are hearing?

There’s a fun and interactive app called Merlin Bird ID that allows you to record the sounds you are hearing and identify the birds nearby. You just open the Merlin Bird ID app and press “start recording.”

Within a few seconds you will see the app identifying the birds by their sounds and include photos of them. The challenging part is to find the bird among the trees!

The app was developed by the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and is free to download.

I regularly use this app when hiking, walking the dog or hanging out in my backyard. It’s a fun activity for all ages and doesn’t require anything except the ability to open the app. I’ve introduced the app to several people who are regularly reporting the activity and enjoying the experience.

Recently, I went to an outdoor barbecue at some friends’ house in Sag Harbor. I noticed they had a few bird feeders filled with bird seed, and I heard lots of chirping above the conversations among friends. I asked the hosts if they knew what kinds of birds they were attracting, and they weren’t sure.

I turned on my Merlin Bird ID app, and we discovered several different species, including a Baltimore oriole. A few days later, the hostess of the barbecue called me and asked the name of the app. She and her husband are now having fun identifying all the birds chirping in her backyard.

Years ago, there was a phenomenon that occurred in Southeast Arizona that resulted in what’s called the Patagonia Picnic Table Effect. Avid birders would travel a route in search of spotting birds. There was a roadside stop that had a picnic table and restrooms. While there was better habitat for birding along the way, this was just a convenient stop for a break.

While there, one of them spotted the first known sighting north of Mexico of a black-capped gnatcatcher. What occurred after that was that many other birders flocked to the area and observed other rare species.

Long Island has had its own share of rare bird sightings over the years as well. Birds may encounter a storm or strong wind pattern that blows them off course, and they land here for safety.

For the past week, there has been a rare shorebird in the Mecox Inlet, a red phalarope. It’s being photographed and documented sparring with the sanderlings and causing quite a stir with birders. As of this writing, I haven’t photographed it yet but hope to get over there. The Parachute Effect is happening, as birders are coming from all over to see and document the bird, according to E-bird.

If you download the Merlin Bird ID app, you may be surprised at the wide variety of birds nearby — and you may just discover a rare species hanging out in the Hamptons! I’ve included a few screenshots of birds in my backyard and ones I’ve heard while hiking our local trails in Long Pond Greenbelt. Who knows, you might just start the next Picnic Table Effect in your own backyard!