Cornell is turning into a money suck
I love watching and recording birds. I have participated in the feeder watch program in previous years. I donate to the Cornell’s efforts when I can and have a subscription so I was appalled when I found out you know heave to pay even more money to participate in this program. I’m on a fixed income- very disappointing so I will probably drop my subscription next year and definitely stop donating. This is no longer a non-profit for a good cause.
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Easy and Fun to Use
Update 2: Feb2026 Using for a couple months now and rock solid. The reviews about bugs are outdated. Update: just updated to version 2.4.42 (19Nov2025) and it seems to work well now. Good support and responsive to the bugs which were in the previous versions. This app is generally simple to use and straightforward. Make it very simple to track bird sightings at the bird feeder. Nice interface and also neat data summaries available. (Note: previous versions were buggy, but this version seems to be fixed)
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This app doesn’t even deserve a star
I thought that this app would be a great experience for me to help log bird counts but no. Apparently you would have to pay a freaking $18!!
This app is completely useless for those who would rather spend $18 on something else.
This app is completely useless for those who would rather spend $18 on something else.
Easy and Fun to Use
Update: just updated to version 2.4.42 (19Nov2025) and it seems to work well now. Good support and responsive to the bugs which were in the previous versions. This app is generally simple to use and straightforward. Make it very simple to track bird sightings at the bird feeder. Nice interface and also neat data summaries available. (Note: previous versions were buggy, but this version seems to be fixed)
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Buggy - Birds saved, then disappear
Update: just updated to version 2.4.36 and it still losing birds that I entered. Viewing gallery and there are 16 birds, back out to main screen and it says there are 14 birds. Buggy. This app is generally simple to use and straightforward. The problem is that after entering birds they later can just disappear for no reason. For some reason, the counts get lost. Kind of makes it hard to take part in this project and makes you wonder what kind of data is actually being submitted. Probably not very reliable data with this app currently.
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Response from developer
Hello, we have been trying to track down this issue but have not seen it on our end. Is there any way you can take a screen capture and send it to our support email? (feederwatch@cornell.edu) Please use subject line “iOS Screen capture” Thank you. I assure you we are working hard to get to the bottom of this.
Buggy - please do better
This is my first year participating in FeederWatch. The app seems pretty straightforward, but entries of species counts, interactions etc. are not saved consistently. I looked at my entries from last night, and only a part of the data had been recorded. I re-entered the missing entries. I checked the count records several hours later, and a different set was saved with several missing. Re-entered AGAIN, and checked several minutes later. Rinse and repeat. This is maddening and discourages me from participating further.
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2025 FeederWatch Made Impossible
I paid to join FeederWatch for this year and I already cannot track this morning because it keeps deleting my counts. What is going on?
Works well, easy to use
This is as easy to use as the website. Easier really since it’s an app so I don’t have to sign in every time. I just love this program, watching and recording our avian visitors brings moments of joy to even the most stressful days.
Works well
I just started using this app, can’t say I’ve had any of the issues that other users have mentioned. They’ve either been fixed or just don’t apply to my use case.
Oof
Clunky. Barely functional on iPad. Better on computer but not by much. Unnecessary sidebar menu for a single page scroll. Update seems overworked for such a simple use. Buttons to select deselect without tapping or just don’t take and highlighting isn’t contrasting enough.
The update is not much of an improvement
Disappointed in the update- it took YEARS for Cornell to update this app, unlike eBird or Merlin, which are updated now and then.
And now it logs me out when I close the app, and when I log back in I have to swipe through the whole ‘welcome and here’s how to participate’ pages again- every single time. the larger layout is annoying, it just means less information fits on my screen. The extra reporting options are nice but overall they’ve made the app more annoying to use.
And now it logs me out when I close the app, and when I log back in I have to swipe through the whole ‘welcome and here’s how to participate’ pages again- every single time. the larger layout is annoying, it just means less information fits on my screen. The extra reporting options are nice but overall they’ve made the app more annoying to use.
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room for improvement
Unquestionably this app makes it easier to record FeederWatch data. However, it crashes/hangs regularly on my (always up-to-date) iPhone when switching between apps. It would also be improved by having a taxonomic sort option and the ability to enter data by alpha code.
Nuisance
App almost never works. Connection fails repeatedly and overall is slow to respond even if you can connect. I try to use it but find myself using the website instead. May as well delete the app.
Needs work
The app has several flaws.
It frequently opens to a blank black screen.
If birds are recorded on the app but submitted through a browser the app doesn’t recognize it. It’s then a difficult, sometimes impossible process to start a new count on the app.
Sometimes entering the total observation doesn’t work unless you hold your tongue correctly and it’s easier to record the count incrementally. Tedious with large counts.
It frequently opens to a blank black screen.
If birds are recorded on the app but submitted through a browser the app doesn’t recognize it. It’s then a difficult, sometimes impossible process to start a new count on the app.
Sometimes entering the total observation doesn’t work unless you hold your tongue correctly and it’s easier to record the count incrementally. Tedious with large counts.
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App needs a lot of work...
Be prepared to refresh this app frequently and be patient, as it is very poorly implemented. It freezes often, the link to "Contact Us" doesn't work, and sometimes needs to be rebooted before a count can be submitted. It feels like a student project that was never completed before the student graduated and left it unfinished. I mean how many apps need to "connect to server" before it can launch.
The good thing is that the counts aren't lost during all the refreshes and reboots so eventually the count can get submitted , assuming you get past your frustration with using this poorly implemented app.
The good thing is that the counts aren't lost during all the refreshes and reboots so eventually the count can get submitted , assuming you get past your frustration with using this poorly implemented app.
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Makes the count harder
This is duplicative since it doesn’t have all functions of count, and it does not save counts of birds not on the expected species list. I will have to use paper and submit on the website (I would have to submit/edit on the website even if I did use the app).
Not ready for prime time
I have used this app on my iPad for several seasons, but it is a pain to use. Sometimes it doesn’t want to recognize my login. Worse is it locks up for no clear reason. Just now it locked after I had entered most of my data. I won’t try again with this app, but enter data online.
App is very frustrating
Frequent freezes and ‘server’ problems. I am not a novice when it comes to apps and servers. 🤷♀️I’m standing next to the modem. And have no trouble with any other apps. Can’t understand why someone can’t fix the glitches.
Great until yesterday
Yesterday I was not able to enter our Feeder Watch count…the app, when it finally came up, just freezes. It is so disappointing! This is our second year counting for Feeder Watch and I’ve not had a problem recording the birds before. Prior to now, the app has been very easy to use.
App freezes frequently on iPad Pro
The last month or so I have been forced to close the app on numerous occasions and reload it in order to continue a count. I have been using this app for several seasons and generally it is an improvement over using paper forms and manually uploading data. But having to reload is getting old. Fortunately there has been no loss of data. One general issue from the beginning is there is no way to enter data offline. So if you are sitting in your yard out of range of your router, you must either keep a paper count or try to remember your sighting until you can get back online. E-Bird does not have this limitation but those counts cannot be used for FeederWatch. Looking forward to an update that will fix these issues.
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