Raptor ID User Reviews

Raptor ID
Raptor ID
HawkWatch International, Inc.

Top reviews

Leave a Review Raptor ID
  • Well worth the money

    This app is amazing, and has completely changed raptor ID for me. There are tons of photos of different ages/morphs, and the narrated videos are incredible. A lot of the birding I do is by myself, and since I downloaded this, I kinda feel like I have an expert there helping me. Thanks, HawkWatch!!
  • Very Helpful

    I am a fairly experienced birder who has seen and photographed 28 of the 34 North American raptors, as well as some outside of North America. Although I may have seen one or more of the 6 that I am missing, I haven't been sure enough to make the call. I have several paper guides and iPhone apps with raptor information, but none of them has given me the confidence to make a reliable sighting on the raptors that I need. The videos with descriptive voice information and comparison photos are just what I need to help me get the remaining raptors. I wish that I had the app a long time ago!
    Show less
  • Photos not great no maps

    I expected better photos and more ID info. NO RANGE MAPS.
  • Finally a GREAT app to ID hawks!

    This app has everything you need to ID hawks. It's an easy to use layout, whether you are an app expert or new to app use. It has great descriptions of each bird, several clear photos, vocalizations, and the added must-have bonus of descriptive videos, all laid out the same for each species. I could see this app being great for beginner raptor identification up to expert birders. It teaches you clearly how to identify raptors in flight, a very difficult task to master before the creation of this app! Its apparent a lot of time and effort has gone in to creating this app.

    *Review from "stupor mundi 2" has obviously no idea what he/she is talking about. There is ample information about every bird, including the American kestrel.
    Show less
  • Fantastic in the hand Tool!

    I am totally perplexed by some of the comments in other reviews. This app is outstanding, and I will adamantly say that there's no other birding tool on the market that compares.
    I have been an avid hawkwatcher for many years now, and a lot of my time is spent as a raptor educator, interpreting raptor ID to the general public, and to school students. This app is a dream-come true as a tool to recommend to the many people I encounter annually, who are hoping to learn to ID raptors in flight. It's helpful to me, in further building my skills, as well.
    Check out the excellent videos, which actually show the hawks in-flight with an excellent narrative by Liguori. Where else can you get that sort of tutorial? Understanding flight patterns and styles is utmost in learning to identify raptors in flight. You can't learn this easily from a book, and the tips offered might take one many hours logged at a hawkwatch to learn. For these videos alone, the app would be worth far more. By owning this app, you have the two best raptor ID experts in the US in the palm of your hand! Liguori and Sullivan even offer free help, and a contact link!
    The Raptor ID app was worth every penny of the small fee they are selling it for.
    Thank you to Brian Sullivan and Jerry Liguori, who work tirelessly to promote the understanding of raptors in the US. By sharing their incredible talents with all of us, they are not only doing volumes for people out there, but more importantly, the raptors in the world around us.
    Show less
  • Valuable!

    Very useful, informative, inspiring, pleasurable. Besides the countless hours and expertise that went into taking these videos and the volumes of information that was condensed into the text; this App is an amazing gift to all birders for a very reasonable price. Thank you to Liggy and Sully for always offering your knowledge to all. I send you my appreciation and the utmost respect for all you have given and continue to give to raptors and all who love them. And thanks for using your own voice, rather than an actor's. The App is beautiful in many ways. Thank you.
    Show less
  • Video!!

    I'm a raptor nut, regularly doing nest surveys, visiting migration sites and even conducting an occasional ID workshop in my local area. Got all the raptor specific field guides and many of the general birding apps. I like the approach of this app- it teaches raptor ID through shape and flight style as you watch actual footage of birds moving overhead and across the landscapes where you might encounter them. Songbird ID is all about plumage and micro field marks. Being good on raptors is all about being solid on the macro basics- shape and flight style. The extensive videos are like being in the field with an expert walking along side you as the bird flies by. Plus, there's tons of static pictures too. I don't really care about the other stuff, like range maps and habitat info- you can read about that anywhere. It takes a lot of space, but having videos with voice overs available in the middle of nowhere is worth the tradeoff and what makes this app unique and killer.
    Show less
  • Taking Raptor ID to a new level.

    Jerry Liguori and Brian Sullivan have added a great new tool to help raptor enthusiasts take their ID skills to a new level. The photos and captions are outstanding showing birds from many different perspectives and also includes photos that help to age birds.

    The section of the app that sets it apart are the videos. These videos have helped me to take my ID skills to the next level. Making an accurate ID of a bird in flight based on plumage with poor light conditions can be very difficult. The videos give great examples of flight patterns and wing shape that can help develop this essential skill.

    Overall the app is well organized and easy to use. It' a great value at $9.99.
    Show less
  • Waste of money

    Disappointing. The species accounts are perfunctory and uninspired and in many cases little or no thought appears to have gone into photo selection. The entry for the kestrel, for example, has numerous photos of adult and subadult males but not one of a female.

    The overall impression is of something slung together quickly by authors with very little interest in what they were doing. A pity, since without that much more effort something useful and worthwhile could have been created.
    Show less
  • A New Necessity for Hawk ID

    Combining the cumulative knowledge of several go-to Books into one app is great. However, adding the level that comes from video to this app really takes Raptor ID above and beyond what was possible before. The best ID folks in the game can do it simply by watching how a bird flies and observing its shape - these two things are easily read, but visually comprehended is a completely different story, since you rarely see all the species with your own eyes. The quality and quantity of video in this app alone is the result of thousands of hours of field work. There may never be a collection of raptor-related video that is as helpful and high quality as we have here. Well, well worth the $10 just to access this video. The rest is gravy as far as I'm concerned, but the highest quality gravy out there. Congrats Jerry, Brian and team.
    Show less

Alternatives to Raptor ID