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 ...

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 ...

I was recently creeping through a clearing of downed trees in a wooded Brooklyn park with my iPhone in hand. Birds were singing everywhere, but through the din, I was recording a peculiar song: It was ...

The joyful sounds of spring bird song fill the air—but do you know who is singing? You can instantly identify birds by sound with the free Merlin Bird ID app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Its ...

Merlin was on the job at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park one recent day, helping birders identify bird songs. Not Merlin the storied magician, although what was happening could be ...

Not long ago while we’re birding at Pleasant Valley, my friend, Barbara, slips out her iPhone from her pocket, taps on her Merlin Sound ID app and begins to record the bird sound around us. The app ...

GRAND FORKS – The merlin earned its place as bird of the week. On Tuesday evening, when I was stewing about what bird to choose, a merlin suddenly appeared. This was not surprising. Merlins have been ...