Sensory detail enlivens our prose, whether it’s descriptions of smell, touch, taste, sight or sound. Since Spring is nearly here, I wanted to offer a great resource for the season’s sight and sound, Merlin Bird ID.
Do you have a bird feeder? Over the last few years we’ve upped our backyard bird watching and have several. Now the birds count on it. They can wipe out a refill in a few days. The fun part is observing the different types of birds, those that nest in the woods, ones in the viburnum shrubs beside the house and others passing through. The red ones are obviously cardinals, but what about all the others?
I downloaded the Merlin Bird ID app to my phone, and now I can pretend to know something about ornithology. At the press a button it listens to birdsong and identifies the species, even multiple birds at one time. It can also identify birds from photos. And there’s more info on what birds should be in your area at a given time of year.
If your story calls for a tweet of the original variety, check out Merlin. And enjoy the sounds of Spring!