BirdsWhere — explore where and when birds are observed

A free, interactive map of bird observations, seasonal occurrence and migration, built for planning birding trips and understanding bird distribution.

BirdsWhere is an interactive geographic tool for exploring bird observations from multiple observation databases and geographic sources. It brings together records from GBIF, eBird, iNaturalist, national bird-reporting portals and acoustic detection networks on one map, so you can see at a glance which birds have been observed where.

It helps birders investigate where species have been recorded, how their occurrence changes through the year, and which locations are particularly important for individual species — the places a bird is most likely to be found in a given week, and the weeks when it arrives or departs.

The application combines bird observations with geographic information and presents them through interactive maps, spatial filters and seasonal tools: distribution maps for more than 12,000 species, week-by-week probability curves, migration calendars, radius searches around any point and lists sorted by rarity. It is designed both for planning birding trips and for exploring patterns in bird distribution and migration. Birds are the focus and the only group the habitat model covers fully, but the same map, lists, filters and photos also cover mammals, amphibians, insects, plants and fungi from the same observation databases.

BirdsWhere emphasizes responsible birding. Sensitive observations and breeding locations are treated carefully, and the application is designed to help people find birds without unnecessarily disturbing them.

What you can do with BirdsWhere

• Plan a birding tripPick a destination and a week of the year and see which species are expected there, which have been reported recently and which sites are the best for them. Historic mode shows what was seen in the same months in previous years.
• Find birds near youUse your position to list recent bird sightings within a chosen radius — the last days or weeks — sorted from the rarest to the most common, with the observation dots on the map.
• Follow migration timingWeek-by-week occurrence curves and a migration calendar show when a species arrives, peaks and leaves at any location, so you can time a visit to the right week.
• Species distribution mapsRange and richness maps for more than 12,000 bird species, computed in the browser from the BirdNET habitat model, with recent observations overlaid.
• Rare bird alertsWhile the app is open, your saved locations are watched for birds the model finds unlikely there — eBird's notable sightings and your other sources, no eBird key needed.
• Field checklist and listsLog a day's observations in the field, keep year and life lists, and export to eBird, CSV or PDF.
• Works offlineInstall it as an app on your phone, download map areas for offline use and keep working where there is no signal.
• Bird names in your languageCommon names in many languages, with an optional second-language column for travel.

Bird observation data sources

Observations are fetched live from GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility), eBird, iNaturalist, Artsobservasjoner (Norway), Artportalen (Sweden), Laji.fi (Finland), NBN Atlas (United Kingdom) and BirdWeather acoustic detections, plus GBIF datasets such as Observation.org, Xeno-canto and DOFbasen. Each source can be switched on or off, and your own API keys stay on your device.

Responsible birding

Finding birds should not come at the birds' expense. BirdsWhere shows observations as the source databases publish them and does not add precision to sensitive records; breeding sites and vulnerable species deserve distance, quiet and respect for local rules, protected areas and private land. Use the tool to plan where to look, then let the birds set the terms.

Free and private

BirdsWhere is free to use, needs no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your lists, settings and map points stay on your device unless you choose to sync them. The code is public domain (CC0 1.0); the BirdsWhere name, the thebirding.site domain and the hosted service are proprietary. The Best sites dataset with its weekly rankings, and the confusion-species lists and traits, are based on modelling performed by Per Christian Moan and are © Per Christian Moan, all rights reserved.

Languages

The app is available in English, Swedish, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian and Lithuanian.