\n
Megan Szostak, 26, was always a “bird kid”.<\/b><\/p>\n
The urge to watch and appreciate the world around her – and avians flitting in and out of it – has been ingrained in her since childhood, when she was given her grandfather’s binoculars after he died.<\/p>\n
Armed with this and a field guide in her home of San Francisco, she set about identifying birds from an early age. <\/p>\n
But in recent years, her birding toolbelt has expanded to include something far more modern – an app.<\/p>\n
“I had friends who probably wouldn’t describe themselves as birders, but more just curious about nature and the world around them, recommend it to me,” Megan said.<\/p>\n
She is one of many millions of people who have downloaded Merlin Bird ID, which claims to be able to identify almost any bird by its look, song or call.<\/p>\n
“I think that it’s been a really great tool that I’ve integrated into my birding routine,” she said.<\/p>\n
And whether down to heatwaves sending more people outdoors, or younger people delving into birding, these apps are booming in popularity.<\/p>\n
Chief among them is Merlin Bird ID, which was developed by Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology.<\/p>\n
It has been downloaded 12 million times in 2026 alone, according to director Jessie Barry – who says it has had 42 million downloads overall.<\/p>\n
She says the app has come a long way since it first launched in the US in 2014, with machine learning systems which could identify 285 common bird species from photos.<\/p>\n
A real feather in its cap at the time, but a decade or so on, and it can now identify 11,000 species of birds – around as many as exist in the world.<\/p>\n
Barry put the development down to AI, as well as “an amazing community of global bird watchers who are able to submit their recordings” – meaning more data to train the tech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Megan](\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/crApOO.jpg\")
<\/picture><\/span>Megan Szostak<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Megan](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/ed6f\/live\/ee815b00-85ac-11f1-9454-77c2271a5b4a.jpg.webp)
<\/picture><\/span>Megan Szostak<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n