eBird by Cornell Lab

A decent app. The usages is great but the app can use some refinement. Often lagging and slow to fetch information. It is far less usable than the web, like why can I only add images on the web. Same issue with subspecies, only on the web. Adding easy way to mark sexes and pairs should not be a difficult thing to add as well.

This app is intrusive and awkward to use. After correctly ID’ing a bird, it pulls you into a cluttered interface with a massive list where the species you need is never easy to find. It forces you to start a list, wasting time and interrupting the actual ID process. Switching between apps is clunky and frustrating. Overall, it slows you down instead of helping—more hassle than value.

Great for reporting birds. Love the route tracking ability. Plus the newly updated ability to correct the route recorded! Everytime we go ANYwhere, I use the app because it can help us quickly identify the bird we hear. Unfortunately, the bird seems to be aware we are somehow "recording" their song, and often they become quiet or fly off.

The explore tab is nice but recording a sighting is unbearable. Multiple screens, a timer running, and the "is this all the birds you observed " slider doesn't work. can't select yes. I submitted my 'checklist' of 1 bird and it doesn't show under 'my eBird' like you'd expect. I fully admit to not reading instructions but also if it were even slightly intuitive it should be simple..

I loved both ebird and merlin at first. Now it doesn't do anything except show me bird of the day & allow me to identify. I can't get into e bird, to my view or make lists. It won't let me sign in it says error. I've deleted and created new accounts to no avail. I have wasted countless hours trying to log in or figure how to get to my info. I'm done! I'll bird the old fashioned way i guess.

It's a nice idea, but it's too complicated for a simple life list. I just want something that let's me search a database by bird and fill in the rest manually. I don't need timers and checklists. Also, it should just be part of the Merlin app, especially since the bird packs have to be downloaded twice (and eBird doesn't have an option for all of North America, just each state).

I love this app, except, for now, it is hung up and i can't put in a location for a sighting. I just keep on getting an error of updating list, which never happens. Also, i have to agree with another reviewer, it would make more sense and easier for the user to enter one sighting at a time rather than compile a list to submit (which isn't working anyway). Also, i don't understand the interaction between Merlin and eBird. It would be easier if a sighting verofied through Merlin flowed through

I really like the idea of this. especially the citizen reporting aspect and checklists that match your region. but it would be a lot easier to identify the birds on the checklist if we could see pictures (female, male, young, mature, etc) and supporting info to go along so we can learn a bit more about that bird (migration, mating habits, habitat and nests, etc). look forward to future updates! edit: thank you for the response! I download the companion app and love it!

The app is ok. It's easy to enter checklists. But there are alot of functionality problems. I can't seem to share checklists with people after I've submitted them. And I can't seem to view other birders' checklists. I also tried repeatedly to figure out how to post my pictures. I know it can be done, because other birders post pics, but I can't figure out how to do it on my phone. Maddening.

As a daily birder, eBird has completely changed the way I keep track of my sightings. It’s super easy to use, and I love how I can log checklists, explore hotspots, and even get alerts for rare birds in my area. The “Explore” tab helps me discover new places to bird, and I like seeing what birds have been reported near me. Another thing that I really like is, that my checklists are going towards conservation and scientific data.

First off, I love eBird on the PC. The app is a bit problematic. It is extremely annoying to spend 4 hours logging bird sightings only to have it tell you "There was an error submitting your checklist." No hint as to what the error is, just will not submit. I like the mapping and the app in general, but kinda useless if you can't submit.

eBird - both the website and the app - are a little tricky to learn at first. The interface for both isn't really intuitive, and it's easy to give up in frustration. Thankfully, Cornell has A+ tutorial videos on the website, and once you understand that the app is for data input while the website is for data analysis, you're good to go. Stunning that this is free, eBird is a scientific powerhouse to see how your own personal life lists plug into a bigger picture.

I find it really annoying that there is a mandatory non-skippable, no disable, checking for updated bird lists in an area. In every new area you visit, even 5 miles apart. If i am in an area of poor signal this can take 10 minutes or more to complete. Not worth it. I don't care about an updated bird list. I want to catalog what I see, quickly & move on to using my phone for other things while enjoying the outdoors. 98% of the time that is birds have seen before and I'm updating counts.

The location setting is so problematic. I can't just enter an address or drop a pin on map. So I went to use their web version and it's impossible via chrome. Every time you try to zoom the keyboard pops up and then zooms you all the way out. I'll try on the laptop later. The time date and location on the checklist screen are not intuitively clickable/changeable. Took awhile to figure that out. It wants to track duration for some reason. I like their other app, Merlin. Hope this one gets better.

Since the update, the app is hardly usable out of cell range. Today, with location on and GPS apps working fine, Ebird struggled for 3 minutes and never was able to find a location though I was in open country. I then was able to scroll through all the countries in the world to find a US list. Why not let us open a recent location first and then edit it later? Very frustrating. Pixel 3/Android 10.

Could be great but there are a lot of problems. The new update was meant to bypass entering a location until you were ready. The problem is, you still have to have your GPS on before you can start a list. If you don't use your GPS, it now takes longer to start a list than before the update. Merlin is a great app on its own, but it should be a part of ebird. You should be able to ID a bird through Merlin on the ebird app instead of switching back and forth. Also, life list? No, Merlin has it?

After taking the "eBird Essentials" course, I found the app easy to use in the field. It is extremely helpful when there are more than a few birds, or when you will be moving around the site for more than a few minutes, because it offers quick data entry and automatic tracking of time and distance. Initially I encountered an error about downloading a bird list when trying to choose a location but this later disappeared. Recommend that developer removes the bird list download at this point.

Easy to use app that helps you submit your birding checklists. The newly added "My eBird" functionality shows you how many species you have seen in a given area that year, how many you were at in previous years, etc. The automatic GPS tracking for time and distance in traveling checklists is also a bonus. Every year the app gets better! Can't wait to see what they add next.

The app is one of the best resources to start looking for bird species. Been using the app for over a year and never had anything major to complain about. But just today, something seems to have broken. There's a "download error (unable to update)" dialog showing up at every startup. Haven't been able to use the app on Android today.

NOT USER FRIENDLY! It's difficult to quickly add a single bird without doing the whole checklist business. You have to "name" the locations for whatever reason, even though they have the gps data. You can't download all 50 states at once, it's state by state. Viewing your life list is way too complicated as well. The only thing that's good is it's the only app that has a complete list of all birds worldwide. If you're just in the US, however, Audubon is far superior.