Feeling cooped up at home? Now is a perfect time to get outside and look for signs of spring! Bulbs are starting to emerge and the birds are singing; soon we’ll start seeing buds on the trees, too.
Are you curious to learn more about what you discover when you’re out in nature? Several apps enable you to identify the species that you see and even share your findings with others.
iNaturalist, a joint effort between the California Academy of Sciences and Natural Geographic, is an amazing inventory of biodiversity around the world. Check out the website to learn more about the biodiversity in your region or, when you’re out in nature, use the mobile app to record and share your encounters with different organisms.
Merlin Bird ID, created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is an amazing tool to learn more about the birds in your area. Answer a few short questions about a bird’s size and color and the app suggests likely species matches and provides additional information about the birds you’re seeing.