The one good app

The other day I was walking the dog and as I was turning a corner amid a bunch of tall grasses, I overheard someone naming birds out loud.

I secretly love when this happens because it reminds me of being at an art museum. I can't count the number of times I'm enjoying art on my own and then a tour guide turns a corner as they're dropping facts and knowledge to their group about the art that surrounds us all. I know I'm not on the tour, and I never try to join the tour, but since the tour came to me, with the guide's voice carrying towards and eventually away from me, I get to learn a thing or two unexpectedly for the few seconds that we overlap.

So I was delighted to overhear someone telling their friend loudly that a thrush was nearby and a junco and a stellar's jay. Once I turned the corner, I spotted the person behind the voice, and they were holding their phone high into the air as they were naming unseen birds and I instantly knew what was going on.

Cornell University's Merlin Bird ID app is a remarkable bit of tech, and probably the app that brings me the most joy on my phone. Everyone should have it on their devices.

It's wild that we have "Shazam for birds" and it's free for anyone and it works so well it's almost scary. Any time I'm anywhere—especially when traveling—and I wonder "What bird is making THAT sound?" I can pull up the Merlin bird app and instantly learn what it is.

It's a remarkable piece of tech and it wows me every time I use it. I'd put it's magical experience up there with the first time I ran the Google Translate app on my phone, as it translated foreign language menus into English in real-time through the camera lens.