I’m not a bird watcher, but I’ve become a bird listener ever since downloading a bionic ear app to my phone. It lets me enter a different world, one where I’m surrounded not just by chirping but by ...

On a relatively quiet Sunday evening in my neighborhood, I sat out on my porch about an hour before sunset. With the construction, lawn mowing and car sounds of the weekday finally absent, the air ...

If the party involves technology, I usually arrive late. But I'm there now and having a wonderful time. With my new friend, Merlin. You know those smartphone apps that tell you what song is playing?

Spring is here, and the air is full of birdsong. The Merlin Bird ID app tells you what type of birds you’re hearing … plus it’s quick, easy and free. With this software from the Cornell Lab of ...

I was sitting in solitude earlier this summer in an Adirondack chair in my backyard, when I realized I wasn't as alone as I'd thought. Thanks to the app I'd just downloaded on my phone—the popular and ...

Next to insects, birds sadly seem to get short shrift from humans. We remain powerfully drawn to scenes of lions hunting in the Kalahari desert or rhinos jousting in eastern India, but remain mostly ...

Learning to identify birds by sight is simple – page through the field guide until you see a bird that matches or go birdwatching with someone who knows more than you. One shortcut to the process is ...

We become desensitized to the common sounds around us—car alarms, chattering squirrels, the mechanical functions of modern living kicking on and off throughout the day. If you had asked me a week ago ...

Springtime and the world in early May is alive with birdsong before sunrise: to some, a discordant cacophony, to others, a heavenly, harmonious chorus. Gone are the days when you just grabbed your ...

Birdwatchers tell the BBC how apps have changed their lifelong hobby - and attracted new birders.