Woodlands are diverse habitats with a multitude of species of flora and fauna. It can take a lifetime to build up knowledge to correctly identify the trees, flowers, birds, insects and fungi that live and thrive in Birchanger Wood. Mobile phone technology can unlock the mysteries of our local woodland. We have gathered together a list of a selection of apps you can download to your phone to gain greater insight into what’s living in the woods. Some free apps like Seek can help you identify wildlife, plants, and fungi, while others are more specialised. Below is a list of apps for Android and iOS that you can try in order to identify specific flora, fauna and fungi – enjoy learning about nature!
Tree Identification
Tree ID – British trees from Sunbird – Tree Id is an easy to use but comprehensive field guide to trees found growing in open countryside and natural woodland of the British Isles. The guide has been created by professional published ecologists, accept no cheap imitations! Tree Id is one of BBC Countryfile’s top 10 apps, and one of the World Wildlife Fund’s top 10 apps. Described as “incredibly useful” by ITV’s Seth Conway and “a lovely app” by Adam Vaughan of the Guardian. It was voted No. 5 in the Guardian Green Living top 10 apps and was given the “Best” award by Apps Plus. Our tree identifier is the only tree identification app in the Woodland Trust top apps list. For Android devices, costs £2.99.
Tree ID – British trees from Woodland Trust – An interactive British tree identification app from the Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity. In just a few steps, you can identify native and common non-native trees in the UK, whatever the season. Use bark, twigs, buds, leaves, flowers and fruits or our A-Z guide full of stunning, clear images to identify the most common British trees. Discover more about each species with fascinating facts, folklore, history and uses – from medicine to musical instruments. Free to download, for Android devices. Also available for iPhone and iPad.
Plant identification
iNaturalist – One of the world’s most popular nature apps, iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over 400,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! What’s more, by recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. Available for Android and iOS.
Picture This – Simply take or upload a photo of any plant, and get instantaneous and accurate plant ID results with this revolutionary artificial intelligence technology. Handy for gardeners. From watering frequency to pest and disease control, from literature to fun fact, everything you want to now about the plant is here in PictureThis. 11,000 and counting entries in its searchable plantpedia and over 200 flowers and plants wallpapers for your mobile. Available for Android and iOS.
Bird Identification
BirdID – Lets you use the main features of the birdid.no website on your Android device. Download the bird guide after installing the app to bring with you sounds and images to identify birds, or download quizzes to sharpen your id-skills. Content is available in all European languages with English as a default. Developed by BirdID and Nord University. The aim of the bird guide is to cover the whole of the Western Palearctic. It now includes approx. 380 species. Free to download. For Android devices.
eBird by Cornell Lab – eBird Mobile makes it easy to record the birds you see in the field, and seamlessly link these observations with eBird–a global online database of bird records used by hundreds of thousands of birders around the world. This free resource makes it easy to keep track of what you see, while making your data openly available for scientific research, education, and conservation. eBird Mobile is the only app that passes information directly from the Android device to your eBird account on the web. Available for free for iPhone and Android.
BirdNet – The BirdNET research project uses artificial intelligence and neural networks to train computers to identify nearly 1,000 of the most common species of North America and Europe. Help us test this prototype app by recording a file using the internal microphone of your Android device and seeing if BirdNET correctly identifies the probable bird species present in your recording. Free to download. For Android devices.
Bird Song ID UK – Record a bird singing and use Automatic Recognition to help identify it. Unlike all other apps, no internet or mobile connection is needed. Automatic Recognition will help identify a good cross section of bird song in the British Isles, but you will need a good quality recording. Lots of blue and green peaks reaching to the top of the analysis graph is a good indication of a quality recording. Help and examples are included in the app to guide you. For iPhone and iPad, costs £3.99.
Collins Bird Guide – The Collins Bird Guide App combines world-class illustrations and comprehensive information with intuitive design to create the ultimate field guide for passionate birders and casual birdwatchers alike. The Collins Bird Guide App provides everything you need to identify a species quickly and learn about it thoroughly. Immerse yourself in the exceptional illustrations, maps, calls and concise text. Use the powerful search filter and curated confusion lists to focus in on a species. The Collins Bird Guide App is an essential companion always to hand on your device. Available for iPhone (£14.99) and Android (£12.99).
Insect identification
Picture Insect – Bug Identifier – Don’t know the name of an insect? Just point your phone’s camera at an insect and let the learning begin with Picture Insect App. Picture Insect is a window to better understanding the wonderful world of insects. It can automatically identify more than 1000+ species of insects. Our team has been striving to develop the most accurate and convenient tool for image recognition and has served over 30,000,000 users all over the world. Free to download. For Android devices.
Butterfly ID – British Isles – Butterfly Id will help you quickly and easily identify species. Butterfly Id does not need an internet connection, all the information for butterflies is downloaded when the app is purchased. For the enthusiast there is anatomical, ecological and taxonomic information too. Butterfly Id can be used to keep a log of your sightings making it easy to build a record of all the butterflies you’ve seen. For Android devices, costs £2.99.
Big Butterfly Count – The app features a beautiful ID guide to help you identify and learn about the 19 species that are the focus of this study. You can also view all of your submitted counts and see everyone’s records on the map within the app. Free to download. For Android devices.
Fungus identification – Do not use these apps to determine edibility. Do not pick fruiting bodies because they maybe poisonous and they could make you ill.
Shroomify – British Mushroom Identification – If you are a keen mushroom forager / hunter then there’s lots of useful info. The app comes pre-loaded with over 400 common Fungi and over 1000 images. When you open the app your position is used to load a relevant dataset to show just the mushrooms that occur in your country or region. Graphs and country ranking are also shown for each individual fungi to help you see how common it is and when in the year it is most common. Free to download. For Android devices.
Fungi of Britain – Identify and learn about the fungi of Britain. Over 450 of the commonest species are described and illustrated. Fungi are listed alphabetically and by Group. Each fungus is presented with a description, mycological data, key identification points, cross-references to similar species, and one or more images showing various aspects of the species. The app can be configured to prefer either common or scientific names. For Android devices, costs £0.96.
Mushroom Book & Identification – Mushrooms Book & Identification is an extended version of well-known illustrated guides on fungi of North America and Europe. Start your camera and make a photo — neural network will find the detailed article to let you verify distinctive features of 180 different species. For iPhone and iPad, costs £3.99.
Birchanger Wood 