What Bird Guide Is Best For You?
Whether you’re just getting started or looking for the perfect warbler app, you’ll find the right guide here.
Birding is often improved with the right tools.
Do you need a pair of binoculars to enjoy birds? Not at all! Will a decent set of bins make observing and identifying them easier from a distance? Absolutely. Like any other hobby, birding comes with a whole host of accoutrement. Some items—like field guides and apps—have a low barrier to entry and can vastly improve your experience with minimal investment. Binoculars and spotting scopes can be costly, but there are also some great budget models. Below you'll find a range of recommendations for the gear that best suits you.
Field Necessities
Download the Free Audubon Bird Guide App
Our recently redesigned app is loaded with features and provides profiles of more than 800 North American species.
Six Apps to Better Your Next Birding Adventure
By now you should have a field guide (or four) on your phone, so mix up your experience with some new options.
The Audubon Guide to Spotting Scopes
Sometimes binoculars just aren't enough. Sometimes you need a scope.
Browse the Scopes
Worth a Read
Merlin Is Magical, but It Still Makes Mistakes
As the popularity of the app’s Sound ID feature grows, so do concerns about how imperfect artificial intelligence impacts a trove of scientific data.
A Beginner’s Guide to Using eBird
Birders and scientists alike have come to depend on this powerful platform. New to birding or intimidated by eBird? Don’t worry, we’ve got you.
How Twitter Can Make You a Better Birder
Harness the power of the tweet and up your rarity-finding success.
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