# SnowRaven — Your birding data, explored

> Birding data explorer for eBird and Macaulay Library exports. (iPhone/iPad app by DAVID THOMAS GIBSON.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/snowraven/id6787719977 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [DAVID THOMAS GIBSON](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896579809)
- Category: Reference, Weather
- Price: Free
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 27 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-02
- Data updated: 2026-10-21
- Monetization: free

## What is SnowRaven?

SnowRaven is a birding data explorer for the records you already keep. It reads your eBird and Macaulay Library exports and gives you weather and tides for your checklists, your history with every species, life-list statistics and an interactive map, on your own device.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Weather: paste an eBird checklist ID and get a weather and tide summary ready to drop into the checklist comment, or look up the conditions where you are now, or the forecast for any place and time ahead. The Weather/tide Planner lays out the coming sunrises and sunsets, each with its tide and forecast weather.
• Statistics: a dashboard built from your eBird backup: life-list totals and growth, milestones, and when and where you bird. A weather section reads back the weather blocks SnowRaven and RainCrow write into checklist comments.
• Map Explorer: your sightings on an interactive map, with nearby eBird hotspots and where species new to you were reported recently. Counties shade by your counts or by how complete your county list is, with a California Breeding Bird Atlas overlay.
• Species Detail: your whole history with one bird: sightings, field notes, breeding codes and a map of every observation, with a weather card showing the skies and temperatures you have found this bird in.
• Calendar: a year of your birding as twelve month grids, each day shaded by how many species you saw. Fold the years together, or narrow it to a single species.
• Multimedia: your life list as a media checklist: which species you have photographed, recorded and filmed, and which you still need.
• Breeding Codes: every species you have recorded breeding evidence for, as a matrix against eBird's breeding codes, colored by evidence tier.
• Checklists: your checklists as whole outings: search every comment you have written, and filter by what an outing has.
• List Comparer: two life lists side by side, or any two public checklists: what they share and what only one has.
• Named Birds: tag an individual bird by name in a species comment and SnowRaven gathers everything you have on it: sightings, places, a timeline, its own media.

PRIVACY

Private by default, and in your control: no account, no analytics, no telemetry, no server we run. Your eBird backup, Macaulay Library export, and API keys are stored only on your device unless you turn on iCloud syncing between your devices, and anything you sync goes to your own iCloud account and nowhere else. When you ask for live data, the app talks directly to the service that has it, using your own free API keys where one is needed. The full privacy policy is at snowraven.dtgibson.com/privacy.html.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Two free API keys, entered once in Settings: an eBird key, and an OpenWeather key for weather. Most tabs also read your eBird backup and, for the media features, an optional Macaulay Library export. Tides and maps work without any key.

SnowRaven is an independent, free, open source project. It works alongside eBird and the Macaulay Library, building on the exports they let you download. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Also available free for Mac and Windows, and self-hosted on a Raspberry Pi, at snowraven.dtgibson.com.

## Key features

- Weather and tide planner
- Life-list statistics dashboard
- Interactive map explorer
- Species history and notes
- Calendar view of birding activity
- Media checklist for photos/recordings
- Breeding code matrix

## Is SnowRaven safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess SnowRaven.

## Is SnowRaven legit?

SnowRaven has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for SnowRaven is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Frequently asked questions about SnowRaven

### What birding data can SnowRaven import?

SnowRaven can import your eBird and Macaulay Library exports. It reads your checklists, field notes, and media files to build a comprehensive profile of your birding activity.

### Does SnowRaven require an internet connection to work?

While some features like live weather and map data require an internet connection and API keys, your core birding data and statistics are stored and accessible on your device for offline use.

### How does SnowRaven handle user privacy?

SnowRaven is private by default and stores all your data on your device. It does not collect analytics or telemetry, and any iCloud syncing is done through your own Apple account.

### What are the requirements to use SnowRaven?

You will need to enter two free API keys: one for eBird and one for OpenWeather. Most features also utilize your eBird backup, and media features can use an optional Macaulay Library export.

### Is SnowRaven available on multiple platforms?

Based on the supported devices, SnowRaven is available for iPhone and iPad, indicating it is designed for Apple's mobile ecosystem.

### How often is SnowRaven updated?

The latest version is 1.0.45, and it was last updated on October 2, 2026. This suggests a recent update, and the app is actively maintained.

### What is the age rating for SnowRaven?

SnowRaven has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users, including younger bird enthusiasts.

### Does SnowRaven have ads?

No, SnowRaven does not contain advertisements. It is a free, open-source project that prioritizes user experience without intrusive ads.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.57 — 2026-10-20

Larger eBird backups now load on iPhone and iPad (up to 64 MB), using less memory, and life list milestones continue past 3,000 species to 10,000.

### 1.0.56 — 2026-10-19

Four-letter codes in Media Targets. With no Macaulay Library export loaded, the Target Species search on Map Explorer's Media Targets view now finds a bird by its four-letter code, such as YRWA, or by its scientific name. Named Birds cards no longer cut off names, places, or links on narrow screens or at large text sizes. In light mode, the bird name on a 500 to 999 milestone badge is easier to read when you hover over it or reach it with the keyboard.

### 1.0.55 — 2026-10-12

Media links on Named Birds. Each named bird's media section now opens with a numbered list of links to every photo, recording, and video of that bird, grouped by type and newest first, and each number opens that item on the Macaulay Library, even while the players inside the app cannot load.

Four-letter codes in Search. Typing a bird's four-letter code, such as YRWA or AMRO, in Search or any species picker now finds that bird. When a code names several of your birds, all of them are listed first, ahead of the name matches.

### 1.0.53 — 2026-10-06

First of Year on Species Detail. A new card lists the first date you reported the species in each year, each date opening its checklist on eBird, with a small chart of those first dates across the years once you have reported the species in two or more.

Choosing System under Appearance now follows a light or dark change you make on your device while SnowRaven is open.

### 1.0.51 — 2026-10-05

On the Map Explorer, reports now take the right recency color in the weeks after clocks spring forward for daylight saving time, and in the List Comparer a breeding code the app does not recognize now always shows as the code itself.

In Settings, Remove synced files from iCloud no longer stops at the first file iCloud will not delete. It removes everything it can, and Copy iCloud details names any file that stayed.

The app now reaches only the web services it already used, each at the addresses it calls, and its content security policy now also covers the scripts it runs in the background, such as the one that draws the map. Neither changes anything you see or do.

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## More apps by DAVID THOMAS GIBSON

- [Scorekeeper for Skyjo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scorekeeper-for-skyjo/id6768505223)

All apps by DAVID THOMAS GIBSON: https://appshunter.io/developer/1896579809

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-21.*