Google Maps for Bird Watching

Most of us know how to use Google Street View for things like directions or seeing what a location looks like before we arrive. But, how many of us know how to use Google Street View app for things like bird watching?

A new group popped up in the Facebook Community recently: Google Street View Birding. This private FB community of birders uses Google Maps Street View to find grainy images of birds.

While the Street View app is not optimized for picture-perfect birding, it has gained a following. The Facebook group has only existed a short time, but the founder, Nick Lund, has used Google Street View to “bird watch” since 2013.
Now the group has over a thousand members.

About the Street View Birding Group

Members share their findings in the group. Albeit grainy and sometimes distorted images, the street view has allowed these birders to identify more than 600 different bird species.

There are only a few rules to be a part of the group:

• No photos of pets or zoo birds allowed
• Photos must include links to the location on Street View
• Pictures must come from Street View (the blue lines on Google Maps) and not Photo Sphere (the blue dots)
• Hiking trails are allowed

Birding is not the only “game” or activity that attracts people to Street View. Some others include finding airports and guessing where on Earth you are.