Birds In Your Backyard

Since Pam and I started birdwatching a couple of weeks ago we have seen a few different birds.  So far its 24 species for me and 14 for Pam.  That’s not very many at all compared to experienced birdwatchers but it’s a start.  But, being the numbers geek that I am, as soon as I stated writing down the birds I saw I began looking for a way to keep track of them.  Basically I want to know what birds we saw, where we saw them, and when we saw them.

Database Options

I started my search in the same place I look for anything, the internet.  It turns out there are quite a few options for keeping track of birds that we see.   I was looking for something that is easy to use yet complete.  Oh, yeah if it is free or low cost then even better. Here are the most popular, full featured applications I found.  One of these will probably the right one for just about anyone.

Avisys- This is the birding database I had heard of before I began birdwatching.  It has a large following and has been around for years.  My Father uses this and loves it.

Birder’s Diary-This is another birding software that has been around for a while and looks like they have a large user base as well.

Bird Base- Yet another birding database that seems to be very full featured.

Ebird- This is an online database developed by the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology. It is easy to use, gives you lots of options, and best of all it’s FREE!  The other thing I like about it is that the observations I enter into it are added to everyone else’s and used for research.  That’s pretty cool.

My Choice

Well, based on my description, you probably figured which one I chose, Ebird.  It’s easy to use and understand, even as beginners, and it looks like it will meet our needs for quite a while.  If, at some time we move to some other database we should be able to import the records from Ebird.  If you are looking for a record keeping program for the birds you see, give Ebird a try.