Help & Support

You need a free eBird API key to use this tool. Here's how to get one:

1. Visit ebird.org/api/keygen
2. Sign in with your eBird account (or create one for free)
3. Fill out the short form requesting API access
4. Copy the API key that's generated
5. Paste it into the "eBird API Key" field on the main page

Your API key is typically issued immediately. Check the "Remember my API key" box to save it for future visits.

Yes. Your API key is stored only in your browser's local storage on your device. It is never sent to any server except eBird's API when making requests for hotspot data.

If you clear your browser data or use a different browser/device, you'll need to enter your API key again.

This tool combines data from several free services:

• eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) - Hotspot locations and bird observation data
• LocationIQ - Address geocoding (converting addresses to coordinates)
• OpenStreetMap - Map tiles and driving route calculations
• Open-Meteo - Weather conditions for birding insights

No, eBird API keys are for personal use only. Each user should request their own free API key from eBird. Sharing API keys violates eBird's terms of service and could result in the key being revoked.

Birding Hotspots Finder is a free, non-commercial tool designed for educational purposes and personal birding trip planning. It helps birders discover nearby hotspots, plan birding routes, and generate reports for their personal use.

This tool is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology or eBird. All eBird data accessed through this tool is subject to the eBird Data Access Terms of Use.

The tool offers two main search types:

Search a Location - Find birding hotspots or a specific species within a circular radius around a single location. Within this mode, you can choose to:

• Find Hotspots - Discover the best birding spots near your location, sorted by species diversity or distance
• Find a Species - Search for recent sightings of a specific bird species near your location

Plan a Route - Find hotspots along an actual driving path between two locations. This is ideal for road trips where you want to stop at birding spots along the way without going too far off your route.

This is a limitation of the eBird API. Their hotspot search endpoint only returns results within a 50km radius. For longer distances, consider using the "Plan a Route" feature, which searches along your entire driving path.

When you select "Find a Species" under "Search a Location":

1. Start typing a bird name (common or scientific) in the search box
2. Select the species from the dropdown suggestions
3. Click "Find [Species Name]" to search for recent sightings

Results show locations where that species has been observed within your search range and timeframe, sorted by distance from your location.

When using the "Plan a Route" feature, this slider controls how far off your driving path you're willing to go to visit a hotspot.

• 3-5 miles - Only shows hotspots very close to your route
• 10-15 miles - Includes hotspots further from the route, giving you more options but longer detours

Yes. When using "Search a Location", you can toggle between "Address" and "GPS Coordinates" input modes. Enter your latitude and longitude values directly (e.g., 40.7128 for latitude and -74.0060 for longitude).

You can also click "Use My Current Location" to automatically detect your position using your device's GPS.

Search Range controls how far from your location to search:

• 10 miles - Focused search for nearby hotspots
• 20 miles - Moderate range for more options
• 31 miles - Maximum range (eBird API limit)

Number of Hotspots controls how many results to include:

• 10 hotspots - Quick results, faster loading
• 20 hotspots - Balanced option
• 30 hotspots - Comprehensive results (may take longer to load)

After entering a location, a map preview appears showing the exact coordinates that will be searched. This helps you verify the location is correct before generating results, especially useful when addresses might have multiple matches or when using GPS coordinates.

You can click "Open in Google Maps" to view the location in more detail.

You can sort results by three different methods:

• Most Species - Hotspots with the highest number of unique bird species observed within your "Days to Look Back" period appear first
• Closest Distance - Hotspots nearest to your location (straight-line distance) appear first
• Shortest Drive - Hotspots with the shortest actual driving time from your location appear first

The species count shows the number of unique bird species observed at that hotspot within your selected "Days to Look Back" period. This is based on observations reported to eBird by citizen scientists.

A higher count generally indicates an active, diverse location, but species presence varies by season and conditions.

Driving times are calculated using OpenStreetMap's routing service (OSRM). They represent estimated driving times under normal conditions and don't account for real-time traffic.

Actual travel times may vary based on traffic, road conditions, and your specific route preferences.

Weather information is provided to help you plan your birding trip. The tool shows current conditions and provides a "birding conditions" score based on factors like temperature, wind, and precipitation.

Generally, calm, mild conditions with no rain are best for birding, though some species are more active in specific weather.

Rare Bird Alerts appear when notable or uncommon species have been recently observed in your search area. These highlight unusual sightings that birders often seek out. Rare birds are shown with orange highlighting.

Migration Alerts provide seasonal context based on the time of year, suggesting what types of birds might be moving through the area during spring or fall migration periods.

Each hotspot card shows quality indicators to help you assess reliability:

• All-time species count - Total number of unique species ever recorded at this hotspot
• Visit count - Total number of eBird checklists submitted at this location
• Quality badge:
  • Well-Established (green) - 500+ visits, highly reliable data
  • Active (yellow) - 50-500 visits, good coverage
  • New Spot (gray) - Under 50 visits, less data available

A hotspot with 200 all-time species and 5,000 visits is more reliable than one with 50 species and 10 visits.

Potential Lifers are species that have been observed at a hotspot but are not on your personal life list. If you've imported your eBird life list, the tool will highlight species you haven't seen yet with purple text and a star icon.

This feature helps you identify hotspots where you might add new species to your life list. A "Potential Lifers" alert appears when species you haven't seen are present nearby.

Species that are both rare AND potential lifers get special combined highlighting, making them highest priority targets.

After finding hotspots, you can create an optimized birding itinerary that plans the best route to visit multiple hotspots in a single trip. The tool calculates driving distances and suggests an efficient order for your stops.

When building an itinerary, you can customize:

• End Location - Return to your starting point (round trip) or end at a different location
• Optimization Priority:
  • Balanced - Considers both species diversity and travel time
  • Most Species - Prioritizes hotspots with highest bird diversity
  • Shortest Route - Minimizes total driving distance
• Maximum Stops - Limit how many hotspots to include (3-10 stops)

When using "Plan a Route", the route preview displays:

• A map showing your driving path between start and end locations
• Total driving distance in miles
• Estimated drive time (without stops)

This helps you understand the base route before adding birding stops.

When you enter start and end locations, the tool:

1. Calculates the actual driving route between your locations
2. Searches for eBird hotspots along the entire route corridor
3. Filters hotspots based on your "Max Detour" setting
4. Displays key birds at each stop to help you choose
5. Creates an optimized itinerary with suggested stops

This ensures you find birding spots along your actual path, not just near the midpoint.

When selecting stops along your route, each hotspot card shows badges indicating key birds:

• RARE (orange) - Notable or uncommon species have been recently observed at this hotspot
• LIFER (purple) - Species not on your imported life list are present (potential new life birds)
• TARGET (blue) - Species you specified in the "Target Species" field are present at this stop

The "Key Birds" section below each card shows the top 3 highlighted species with their status.

The Target Species field uses autocomplete to help you select species from the eBird taxonomy:

1. Click the "Target Species" input field
2. Start typing a bird name (common or scientific)
3. Select the species from the dropdown suggestions
4. The species appears as a tag below the input - repeat to add more species
5. Click the X on any tag to remove that species

Hotspots where your target species have been recently observed will display a blue "TARGET" badge on the card, and the matching species will be highlighted in the Key Birds list.

Map indicator: Hotspots with target species also show a blue ring around their map marker, making them easy to spot visually on the map.

When you have a life list imported, the "Optimize for Lifers" checkbox appears in route planning. When enabled, the tool automatically pre-selects all stops where potential lifers (species not on your life list) have been recently observed.

This helps you quickly plan a route focused on adding new species to your life list.

When you select stops along your route, unselected stops show a diversity indicator:

• "+X unique species" - How many species this stop has that your selected stops don't have
• "X% overlap" - Shown when a stop has mostly the same species as your selected stops (high overlap means less value adding this stop)

This helps you choose stops that maximize species diversity and avoid redundant stops with similar bird lists.

Yes! After the route search finds hotspots, you can select which ones to include by clicking the checkboxes on each hotspot card or by clicking on map markers. Use the "Select All" or "Deselect All" buttons to quickly manage your selections.

The diversity indicator and key birds display help you make informed decisions about which stops will add the most value to your trip.

After generating a route, you have several export options:

• PDF Report - Download a printable report with maps, directions, and species lists
• GPX File - Export waypoints for use in GPS devices or mapping apps
• Google Maps - Click the directions link to open your route in Google Maps

After entering an address or coordinates, click the star icon next to the location field to save it as a favorite. Give it a name (like "Home" or "Cabin") for easy reference.

Saved locations are stored in your browser's local storage. They're only available on the same device and browser where you saved them. Clearing your browser data will remove saved locations.

Recent Searches shows your last 5 search locations as clickable chips below the location input field. This makes it easy to quickly re-search locations you've looked up before.

Simply click on any recent search chip to automatically fill in those coordinates and start a new search. The search will run immediately using your current settings.

Yes, click the "Clear" link next to "Recent searches:" to remove all your search history. Like other data, recent searches are stored in your browser's local storage.

Click the star icon in the top-right corner of any hotspot card in your search results. The star will turn gold to indicate the hotspot has been saved to your favorites.

Once you've favorited at least one hotspot, a "Favorite Hotspots" section will appear in the sidebar. Click on any favorite to open its eBird page in a new tab.

You can remove a favorite in two ways:

• Click the star icon again on the hotspot card to unfavorite it
• Click the X button next to the hotspot in the "Favorite Hotspots" section

Expand the species list for any hotspot by clicking "View Species List", then click the "Copy List" button at the top of the list. The species will be copied to your clipboard as a formatted checklist.

The copied list is formatted as a field checklist with checkboxes:

Species Checklist - Central Park
========================================
[ ] American Robin
[ ] Blue Jay
[ ] Northern Cardinal
...
(47 species)

You can paste this into notes, messages, or print it for use in the field.

The Life List feature lets you import your personal birding life list from eBird. Once imported, the tool compares species observed at hotspots against your list and highlights "potential lifers" - species you haven't seen yet.

This helps you prioritize hotspots where you're most likely to add new species to your life list.

To import your life list from eBird:

1. Log in to eBird.org
2. Go to "My eBird" and click "Download My Data"
3. Download your Life List as a CSV file
4. In this tool, expand the "My Life List" section
5. Click "Import from eBird" and select your downloaded CSV file

The tool will parse the CSV and extract all species from your life list. You'll see a confirmation showing how many species were imported.

Once you've imported your life list:

• Purple text with a star - Species you haven't seen (potential lifers)
• Orange text - Rare/notable species in the area
• Purple + Orange combined - Species that are BOTH rare AND a potential lifer (highest priority!)

A "Potential Lifers" collapsible section appears when lifers are present in your search results, listing all species you could add to your life list.

Your life list is stored in your browser's local storage, just like your saved locations and API key. It stays on your device and is never uploaded to any server.

If you clear your browser data, you'll need to import your life list again.

To clear your life list, expand the "My Life List" section and click the "Clear" button.

To update your list with new species, simply import a fresh CSV export from eBird. The tool will add any new species and skip duplicates that are already in your list.

Yes. The weather display supports both Fahrenheit and Celsius. Click on the temperature reading to toggle between units. Your preference is saved in your browser for future visits.

This error means your eBird API key is not being accepted. Try these steps:

1. Double-check that you copied the entire key without extra spaces
2. Clear the key and re-enter it
3. Verify your key is still active at ebird.org/api/keygen
4. If the key was recently generated, wait a few minutes and try again

The geocoding service couldn't find your address. Try these tips:

• Use a complete address with city and state/country
• Check spelling of street and city names
• Try a nearby landmark or intersection if your exact address isn't found
• Switch to GPS coordinates if you have them

This can happen for several reasons:

• Remote area - Some regions have few or no eBird hotspots. Try increasing the search range.
• No recent activity - If "Days to Look Back" is set too low, hotspots without recent observations won't appear. Try increasing it to 30 days.
• Route too short - For route planning, very short routes may not have hotspots within your detour distance.

If the map appears blank or tiles don't load:

• Check your internet connection
• Try refreshing the page
• Disable browser extensions that might block map tiles (ad blockers, privacy extensions)
• Try a different browser

Loading times depend on several factors:

• Number of hotspots in your search area
• Your internet connection speed
• eBird API response times (can be slower during peak hours)

Reducing the search range or "Days to Look Back" can speed up results. The tool shows progress as it loads each hotspot's details.

If a species you've seen is incorrectly marked as a potential lifer:

• Check spelling - The common name in eBird must match exactly. Some species have regional name variations.
• Re-import your list - Download a fresh CSV from eBird and import it again. This ensures the latest taxonomy is used.
• Taxonomy updates - eBird occasionally updates species names or codes. A recent import will have the latest names.

The tool matches species by both species code and common name (case-insensitive) to maximize accuracy.

When importing a life list, some species may not match the eBird taxonomy. This can happen with:

• Subspecies or regional forms not in the main taxonomy
• Recently split or lumped species
• Hybrid species

These species are still imported with a fallback code and will be matched by common name when possible. Check the browser console for details on which species weren't matched.

This tool is designed with privacy in mind. Here's what happens with your data:

• Location data - Your coordinates are sent only to eBird (for hotspot data), LocationIQ (for address lookup), and OpenStreetMap (for maps and routing). No location data is stored on any server.
• API key - Your eBird API key is stored only in your browser's local storage if you choose "Remember". It is lightly obfuscated but not encrypted (client-side security limitation).
• Life list - Your imported life list is stored only in your browser's local storage. It never leaves your device.
• Saved locations - Stored only in your browser's local storage.

To function, this tool sends data to the following services:

• eBird API (Cornell Lab) - Receives your coordinates to return nearby hotspots and bird observations
• LocationIQ - Receives addresses for geocoding (converting to coordinates)
• OpenStreetMap - Receives coordinates to display map tiles
• OSRM (Open Source Routing Machine) - Receives coordinates for driving route calculations
• Open-Meteo - Receives coordinates for weather data

Each service has its own privacy policy. No data is sent to any other servers.

Your API key is stored in your browser's local storage with basic obfuscation, but it's not fully encrypted. This is a limitation of client-side web applications. For better security:

• Don't share your browser's local storage or developer console output
• Use "Remember" only on private devices you trust
• Your API key is only sent to eBird's servers, never to any other destination

To remove all stored data:

• Quick method - Clear your browser's local storage for this site
• Manual method - Clear saved locations, life list, and uncheck "Remember" for your API key

Data sent to third-party APIs (like search queries) follows each service's data retention policies.