You likely know by now that I’m an avid, total novice, backyard bird watcher. I’ve discovered this morning that there are birds singing in my backyard I’ve never seen before. I’m often focused on the birds at my feeders (which have been put up for the season due to our neighborhood bear).

Through a friend, I discovered an app that identifies birds by their song. On a work-at-home day this morning, I found myself wandering the yard, recording the sounds of birds to test the app. It’s so fun!

My “backyard” is literally the woods. I’ve come to appreciate this app because there are many more birds here than I see at my feeders. The app is Song Sleuth Bird Song Analyzer, available for free.

Open up the app and record the sounds around you. When you stop recording, isolate the bird song you want to identify.

Up pops some options for consideration – you can play their sound and confirm that it’s identified the correct bird. In addition to the squirrel, there are other non-bird suspects, including frogs, toads, and humans.

This morning, I did this many times, deleting recordings that yielded wrong results, wandering farther into the woods for crisper recordings. If correct, you can confirm the identification.

Here’s what I discovered by song in my backyard this morning. The Red-eyed Vireo, the Black-throated Green Warbler, and the Ovenbird are discoveries! It looks like I’ve got some new patterns to create.

Who is singing in your backyard?