Resources
Birding Opportunities
Note: Many of the opportunities listed are only available in the United States, aside from the Young Birders Network.ABA Young Birder of the Year - The ABA's awesome contest encompassing a variety of activities with helpful mentors
ABA Birding Camps - Organized birding trips by the ABA for young birders to explore
Audubon Camps - Many organized camps around the United States
NJ Audubon World Series of Birding - A New Jersey competition to count as many birds as possible in a day WSB Champion and Mentor BQ
Cornell Lab Young Birders Event (2023 Applications Opened 2/22/2023!)
Rio Diablo Birding Camp - A birding camp based in southwest Texas
Young Birders Network - "Connecting young birders from around the world to share their love of birds and birding"
Young Birder Clubs
News & Blogs
ABA Fledgling - Magazine written by young birders, produced by the ABA
Beary Birding Chickadee Chat - Inspiring next-gen birders through information, entertainment and conversation
eBird For Young Birders - Young Birder's resources by eBird
Citizen Science
Xeno-canto - Upload your audio observations (of any animal) for science
NestWatch - Log your nestbox observations or learn how to build one for a specific species
FeederWatch - Count birds visiting your feeders in the colder months (subscription required)*
Cool Things
BirdSTAT - Processes and analyzes your eBird data into fantastic graphs and statistics
BirdCast - Forecasts and detects migration patterns in birds (only active 3/1-6/15 spring and 8/1-11/15 autumn)
eBird Status and Trends - Visualizes data in eBird with animated maps
Online Field Guides
Merlin Bird ID - (Mobile App) For your bird identification troubles including Sound ID and Photo ID
All About Birds - Comprehensive guide to North American birds detailing their life histories
Sibley Guides - Helpful identification tips and illustrations by renowned David Allen Sibley
Audubon Field Guide - Another option to study North American birds
Apps
Merlin Bird ID - For your bird identification troubles including Sound ID and Photo ID
iBird Pro
BirdsEye
BirdNET
Identification
Note: Please take the following apps with several grains of salt; they utilize AI technology by comparing your photo/audio to others. While some of them are quite impressive, no app is perfect quite yet. Please use your own identification skills and other resources in addition to the following apps before making a definitive identification.Google Lens - Photo ID (and a plethora of non-bird-related things)
Merlin Bird ID - Photo ID + Sound ID
BirdNET - Sound ID
Conservation
Books
Ornitherapy: For Your Mind, Body, and Soul by Holly Merker, Richard Crossley and Sophie Crossley Email Ornitherapy@gmail.com directly for 40% off and use "Beary Birding Discount"
Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder by Kenn Kaufman
What It's Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley
Belle's Journey: An Osprey Takes Flight by Rob Bierregaard