What's new

September 2026

11 September 2026, version 3.3 In testing: iPhone build 104, Android build 29. TestFlight testers have build 104 now; Android testers have build 29.

• 3.3A check before your list leaves. Press export and you see what is about to be sent: cards still waiting on you when the checklist is marked complete, species that will go out as one row, and the checklist comment exactly as eBird will receive it, ready to edit there. When there is nothing to tell you it stays out of the way, so a clean export is still one tap.
• 3.3Your audio, your choice. Clearing a trip’s audio is now a tick box on that screen rather than something that happens on its own, and it remembers what you chose last time.
• 3.3Add a bird you forgot. You can add a species to a trip after it has ended. It is marked, so you can tell it apart from the ones you logged in the field.
• 3.3Incidentals. A bird you see away from a proper outing, on the walk back to the car, takes one tap to log. It goes to eBird as its own list rather than joining the trip you have just finished.
• 3.3The map. Tap the map icon on a card and that bird’s pin is marked, so you are not picking it out of a cluster.
• 3.3Tidier checklists. Words that say nothing, such as “observed”, no longer appear in the comments on your public checklists.

Testers are running this now. If you would like to be one, sign up as a trailblazer and tell me where you bird.

8 September 2026, version 3.2 In the App Store: iPhone builds 94 to 103, Android builds 19 to 23. Released on the App Store and Google Play on 11 September 2026.

• 3.2Pocket Mode reworked. Your phone can go in your pocket and stay there. A press on your headset button still starts a log. Every press gives you a tone and a short buzz so you know it heard you without taking the phone out. If you go quiet for fifteen minutes it stands down on its own, and a swipe up brings it straight back.
• 3.2A simpler log screen. Song, the microphone, Note and Type now sit together in one row. Cards are tighter so more of your session fits on screen, and the voice tips have moved to More, then Voice.
• 3.2Better with numbers. Spoken counts like “a hundred and thirty” now land as 130, and a count said at the end of a phrase is picked up properly.
• 3.2One sentence gives you one card, even when the wind is up.
• 3.2Merge all now has an undo. Five seconds to change your mind.
• 3.2Session totals only count cards you have confirmed, so the number matches what you actually logged.
• 3.2Scientific names now come straight from the eBird taxonomy.
• 3.2If the microphone fails to start, you get an amber banner instead of silence.
• 3.2Parsing is also quicker behind the scenes.

6 September 2026, version 3.1 In the App Store: builds 89 to 93. Released on the App Store and Google Play on 7 September 2026.

• 3.1Auto-log. Teach BirdScribe a phrase once and, if you choose, that exact phrase logs the bird without a tap next time. A bolt on the card shows the state: filled when on, outline when off. Tap it to change, or use the switch on Learned names. Nothing is ever logged without your say so, and only exact learned phrases qualify; built-in names, near misses and the parser’s own guesses never auto-log.
• 3.1Learned names, redesigned. Your names first, search on top, the explainer folded to one line. Backup and community sharing moved below the list. Auto-log sits on each row. Export stays in the header, with a dot when a backup is due.
• 3.1Complete checklist. A switch on the Session Summary, on by default, written to the eBird CSV. Turn it off for an incidental or a walk where you only logged some of what you saw.
• 3.1Teach names before you travel. A typed correction always saves as a learned name, whatever GPS thinks. Set your birding region under More, teach the names, and they are ready when you arrive. Your chosen region wins over the GPS one.
• 3.1Counts. Ranges take the lower figure with a note. A repeated number no longer doubles up. Number-word species such as Forty-spotted Pardalote are handled correctly.
• 3.1Mishearings. Common ones are corrected on screen (gulls, herring, reed, house) with your original words kept.
• 3.1Traditional names. Built-in names, including British ones, can be promoted to your own learned names.
• 3.1Community sharing. Optional, anonymous, on Learned names. Helps suggestions for other birders in your region.
• 3.1Also. Home status no longer flashes after a parse. The Trip saved toast moved clear of the export buttons. iPad background fixed. Android back button, keyboard and viewport fixes.

4 September 2026, version 3.1: iPhone build 88, Android build 15.

• 3.1Say “150 cormorants” and get 150, even when the mic hears it as two numbers.
• 3.1The app never adds two numbers together, whatever the mic does to them.
• 3.1Say “100 to 150” deliberately and it logs 100 with your estimate noted for eBird.
• 3.1Offline, plurals of your learned names now work: “three gannets” logs itself with no signal, same as the singular.

4 September 2026, version 3.1: iPhone build 87, Android build 14.

• 3.1One sentence can no longer log the same bird twice.
• 3.1Say a range such as “100 and 150 cormorants” and the card logs 100, with your estimate of 100 to 150 noted for eBird.
• 3.1After a long break, or once the date has changed, the app checks you’re still on the same trip before you record again or open review.
• 3.1A trip that runs past midnight can be exported as one checklist per day.
• 3.1Confirm a bird by one of its built-in names and that name becomes your own shortcut.
• 3.1Send feedback without typing a word: attach any trip, or your learned names, and send.
• 3.1A new tick on the Learned names screen shares your learned names with the BirdScribe community, anonymously, to improve suggestions for birders in your region.

3 September 2026, version 3.1: iPhone build 86.

• 3.1Cards and the export show the bird you meant, not the mishearing.
• 3.1A count spoken at the start of a phrase now carries through to the card.

3 September 2026, version 3.1: iPhone build 85, Android build 13.

• 3.1Moving between screens mid-trip no longer asks you to resume. You land back in your session as you left it.
• 3.1On Android, the back button goes back a screen instead of leaving the app.
• 3.1Cards keep your most recent position, marked approximate with its age, instead of showing No GPS.
• 3.1A bare name such as “magpie” offers you the choices for your region instead of Could not identify.
• 3.1The header tells you when your chosen region differs from where you are standing, with a tap to change it.
• 3.1Say a bird’s name and the suggestions fit your region better.

3 September 2026, version 3.1: iPhone build 84, Android build 12.

• 3.1Heard-only birds stay heard-only all the way to eBird.
• 3.1Every time you confirm a bird, the app gets better at hearing you say it, with a quiet Learned note when it does.
• 3.1Add a checklist note by voice: say “checklist note” and then your note.
• 3.1Traditional British names recognised: Hedge Sparrow, Bearded Tit, Goosander, Lapland Bunting and more.
• 3.1Spoken numbers are heard correctly more often.

September 2026, version 3.1: BirdScribe learns.

• 3.1Correct a bird once and it ranks first the next time you say that phrase.
• 3.1Learned names screen: view, edit, back up and restore what BirdScribe has learned from you.
• 3.1Auto-log for phrases you trust, so a confirmed phrase goes straight to the list.
• 3.1Bulk merge and count-accept in review.
• 3.1Voice shortcuts reference in the app.
• 3.1Species matching and the eBird CSV follow your region.

August 2026

August 2026, version 3.0: iPhone builds 63 to 69, App Store.

• 3.0Bird anywhere in the world: species suggestions, the unusual-for-this-area flag and voice recognition all follow where you are standing, not Far North Queensland.
• 3.0Common local birds outside Queensland are no longer flagged as unusual.
• 3.0Say a count of any size, such as 1,056, and the card keeps it.
• 3.0Common UK mishearings land on the right bird, Chiffchaff and Blackcap among them.
• 3.0A banner lets you know when a newer BirdScribe is on your app store.
• 3.0If feedback fails to send, your words are kept and the app says why.

13 August 2026, version 2.2: Android build 5. iPhone testers had the same changes from 11 August as version 3.0 builds 48 to 50.

• 2.2Exporting to eBird opens a page in your browser with the checklist file and the eBird import link, so you can finish on a laptop or email yourself the link.
• 2.2Send feedback from inside the app, with the option to attach a trip.
• 2.2Typing a bird’s name no longer hides behind the keyboard, on any screen.
• 2.2Exported files carry the time as well as the date, so two trips to the same place on one day no longer collide.
• 2.2Trip length on the summary and trips list is measured from your first bird to your last, not from when the app was opened.

July 2026

27 July 2026, version 2.0: Android build 3, the first Android release, as an open beta on Google Play.

• 2.0BirdScribe arrives on Android, with everything from iPhone versions 2.0 and 2.1.
• 2.0The checklist saves to Downloads, and a phone with no speech service says so plainly while typing and song capture keep working.

24 to 27 July 2026, version 2.1: iPhone builds 42 and 43, TestFlight.

• 2.1Add a bird by typing, from the record screen, for when speaking is not practical.
• 2.1Add a comment to any bird by typing or dictation, and it goes into your eBird checklist beside the count.
• 2.1A sound bite with no location asks you to add one before suggesting a species.
• 2.1Every species name is checked against eBird’s own list at export, and any it will not accept is flagged before the file is written.
• 2.1Cleaner eBird exports: an unmatched nesting note no longer produces a breeding code, and a merged bird is never exported twice.
• 2.1The privacy page has a Back button and a plain list of the three things that ever leave your phone.

July 2026, version 2.0: iPhone build 41, App Store.

• 2.0A new look built for sunlight: warmer colours, one typeface throughout, and icons in place of emoji.
• 2.0A bottom bar on the recording screen: Pocket Mode, Trips, More, and a Review pill showing your species count.
• 2.0Review is a look, not a commitment. Open it mid-trip and come back to keep recording; the trip ends only when you export.
• 2.0Cards are half the height, so four or five fit on a screen.
• 2.0A sound bite that comes back with a suggested species shows it on the card, with one tap to confirm it as heard.
• 2.0Merged cards keep every clip, each with its own play, share and remove.
• 2.0Merge and un-merge on a trip that has ended but not yet been exported.
• 2.0Coming back to a trip after a long break, on a new day, or from a few kilometres away, the app asks whether to continue it or start a new one.
• 2.0The checklist date, start time and duration come from your birds, not from when the app was opened.
• 2.0Every card has a Show on map button, the return trip of tapping a pin to find its card.
• 2.0Cards that will not reach eBird say so.
• 2.0Every name offered in a pick-list is one eBird accepts.
• 2.0Delete on the trip summary can be undone, as it can everywhere else.
• 2.0Microphone and location are asked for on your first tap of Record, and a denied permission shows a notice with an Open Settings button.

10 to 11 July 2026, version 1.5: iPhone builds 24 to 33, TestFlight.

• 1.5A sound bite now comes back with a suggested species on the card, fitted to your region. You confirm it; it never goes on the list by itself.
• 1.5If song analysis is unavailable, the recording is saved, the sighting is logged, and a Retry button waits for you.
• 1.5A sound bite button in the header: tap to record a bird, swipe up in Pocket Mode. Saying “sound bite” still works.
• 1.5Each sound bite is its own heard-only card until you name it, never grafted onto another bird.
• 1.5On first run the app asks for microphone and location in context, and plays you the beeps so you know them by ear.
• 1.5Bigger tap targets, higher-contrast text, and a clear message after every export.
• 1.5Type to correct is a visible button on every card.
• 1.5Recordings are named by species and time, and any clip can be shared from the app.
• 1.5Naming a sound bite shows on the card straight away, and removing a clip can be undone.

8 to 9 July 2026, version 1.4: iPhone builds 17 to 22, TestFlight.

• 1.4Pocket Mode: arm it and pocket the phone screen-on. Stray touches are ignored, the screen stays awake, and your headset button drives the whole loop. Swipe up when you do want touch.
• 1.4Record a bird’s song: say “sound bite” and the app records the bird until you tap, say “all done”, or 45 seconds pass. Add the bird’s name after the trigger to log it heard-only at the same time.
• 1.4A Recordings library under Trips lists your clips and the space they take.
• 1.4Heard-only birds honour a stated count: “three kookaburras calling” exports as 3, and no number stays X.
• 1.4Siri understands “Bird Scribe” said as two words as well as one.
• 1.4Header buttons are icons only.

3 to 8 July 2026, version 1.3: iPhone builds 11 to 16, TestFlight.

• 1.3Stop talking and the bird commits itself after a short silence. A tick tells you the mic is live and a beep tells you the result, so you never need to look at the screen.
• 1.3A headset or AirPods button starts and stops recording: one press each way.
• 1.3“Hey Siri, log a bird in BirdScribe” opens the app and starts recording, from any screen.
• 1.3Every card has a play button to hear what you said.
• 1.3On the trip map, tap a card to find its pin, or a pin to find its card.
• 1.3Offline, a clearly named bird matches on the spot. Anything else is saved with your recording, and a Reprocess button runs the saved recordings through when you reconnect.
• 1.3Edit the trip summary in place before you export.
• 1.3A single narration is capped at ten seconds, so a recording never runs on.
• 1.3A pause while dictating a note no longer ends it early.
• 1.3Deleting a trip removes it from the phone for good, and your recordings folder is visible in the Files app.

June 2026

June 2026, version 1.2: iPhone, App Store.

• 1.2Species suggestions follow your GPS location anywhere in the world, instead of assuming Far North Queensland.
• 1.2A searchable region picker overrides GPS when you need it, and stays out of the way when GPS has already found your region.
• 1.2End Session goes straight to review and merge, and a Trip saved confirmation shows your observation count.

19 June 2026, version 1.1: iPhone builds 2 and 3.

• 1.1Typing a bird’s name keeps the suggestion list clear of the keyboard.
• 1.1A fresh install starts with no saved locations; you add your own.

June 2026, version 1.0: iPhone build 1, the first App Store release.

• 1.0Tap Record, speak your sighting, tap Stop. Your words are saved first, then a card appears with the species, count and location. Several birds in one breath become several cards.
• 1.0Nothing goes on your list without your tap. The app suggests, you confirm, or you type the name with suggestions from eBird’s own list, offline.
• 1.0Heard-only birds and counts are picked up from what you say.
• 1.0Fix a card by re-recording, typing a name or changing the count, and delete with undo.
• 1.0Merge two sightings of the same species before export.
• 1.0Field notes by voice or text stay on your phone and never reach eBird.
• 1.0Close the app mid-trip and it offers to resume where you left off.
• 1.0Cards and the map lead with a place name, and saved locations name your checklist the way eBird expects.
• 1.0My Trips keeps every past trip on the phone.
• 1.0Export an eBird checklist proven against real imports, plus a plain-text trip report with your own words in it.
• 1.0Free, no account, works offline.