How to use AI for bird watching

How to get into bird watching

Few things are as exhilarating as capturing a glimpse of a rare bird out in nature. This moment often doesn’t just happen; it requires a little planning, patience, mindfulness, and the right items. Make sure you have the necessities before venturing outside to go bird watching. Bring a camera and binoculars; wear some good, durable shoes suitable for hiking; bring water; and go to a place where you know you’ll spot birds, whether it’s a park, the forest, or a sanctuary. When you go on your adventure, slow down and tune into your surroundings, indulging in nature and its sensations. Listen; it may lead you to the birds before your vision does.

Achieve the extraordinary with

Copilot in Microsoft 365

Seamlessly tackle your to-dos and track budgets, projects, and calendars with AI-powered features in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more.

Try now for free

Using AI for birdwatching

AI is an excellent tool for bird watching. From finding new sites to bird identification, here are a few clever ways for bird watchers to use AI:

Find bird watching sites

Wondering where the best places are in town to go bird watching? Turn to AI to discover new sites, from local sites to those that are a day’s drive away or farther. Tell your AI assistant your location and how far you’re willing to travel to go bird watching, and it will suggest places where you’ll have a good chance of spotting some exciting birds. Simply ask AI, “Where is the best place to go bird watching in [location]?” Or, if you’re embarking on a road trip and want to find places on the way, share your route and location, for example, saying, “I am traveling from Chicago to St. Louis via I-55. What are the best bird watching sites along the way?” It will list destinations and link to more information to learn more about them. Take it a step further and ask AI to create a custom birdwatching guide for your chosen location, including common species, recommended trails, and available tours.

What bird is this?

AI is trained on images from across the internet, including birds. From a single photo, it can identify the species by comparing it to others in its database. If you’re unsure what you’re looking at, snap a picture of the bird. Share it in your AI conversation and ask, “What bird is this?” It will then tell you the type of bird and even share resources to learn more about that particular bird. If you didn’t capture a photo, describe it in detail: “What bird is tall, grey, has a long bill, and lives in marshes of the Midwest?” AI might identify it as a great blue heron.

Bird call identification

What’s that sound? Leverage AI to identify the calls of certain birds. Use your phone to capture audio of a bird’s call, and then upload the recording to your AI platform asking, “What bird call is this?” It will then analyze the bird call and suggest possible species matches based on pitch, pattern, and frequency. You can then continue your research to learn more about the bird AI identified.

Go beyond bird watching and learn how else to incorporate AI into your daily life with more AI tips and tricks from Life Hacks. Try Microsoft 365 and unlock powerful AI tools to dive deeper into your hobbies.