Comparison

Audubon Bird Guide vs Wayne County Recycles

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Audubon Bird Guide

Identify North American birds with this comprehensive field guide. Features include a bird ID tool based on observations, detailed species information with photos and audio, and a personal sightings log. Discover nearby birding locations and connect with conservation efforts.

Highlights
  • Bird identification tool
  • Detailed species profiles
  • Bird song and call audio
  • Sightings log and life list
  • Nearby birding hotspots
  • Photo sharing
Features
Read full description

The Audubon Bird Guide is a free and complete field guide to over 800 species of North American birds, right in your pocket. Built for all experience levels, it will help you identify the birds around you, keep track of the birds you’ve seen, and get outside to find new birds near you. With over 2 million downloads to date, it is one of the best and most trusted field guides for North American birds. KEY FEATURES: ALL-NEW: BIRD ID It's now easier than ever to identify a bird you just saw. Enter all you were able to observe—what color was it? How big? What did its tail look like?—and Bird ID will narrow down a list of possible matches for your location and date in real time. LEARN ABOUT THE BIRDS YOU LOVE Our field guide features over 3,000 photos, over eight hours of audio clips of songs and calls, multi-season range maps, and in-depth text by leading North American bird expert Kenn Kaufman. KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE BIRDS YOU SEE With our completely redesigned Sightings feature, you can keep a record of every bird you encounter, whether you're hiking, sitting on the porch, or simply catching a glimpse of birds out the window. We'll even keep an updated life list for you. EXPLORE THE BIRDS AROUND YOU See where the birds are with nearby birding hotspots and real-time sightings from eBird. SHARE PHOTOS Post your photos to the Photo Feed so other Audubon Bird Guide users can see your best bird shots. GET INVOLVED WITH AUDUBON Keep up with the latest news from the world of birds, science, and conservation. Find an Audubon location near you to go birding. Or see where your voice is needed and take action to protect birds and the places they need, right from your app. Have any questions or need help? Contact us at audubonconnect@audubon.org About Audubon: The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive.

About

Wayne County Recycles

This app helps Wayne County, Michigan residents learn how to properly sort their waste. Search for specific materials to determine if they can be recycled or must be disposed of.

Highlights
  • Material search for recycling
  • Disposal information
  • Local waste sorting guide
  • Wayne County specific data
Features
Read full description

Learn to sort your waste in Wayne County, Michigan: search for a material to learn if it can be recycled or disposed of.

Screenshots

Audubon Bird Guide4 screens
Wayne County Recycles2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Wayne County Recycles at none against Audubon Bird Guide's shown. Wayne County Recycles also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). Audubon Bird Guide's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (4.5K vs 23). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Audubon Bird Guide against 4.2 for Wayne County Recycles. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Audubon Bird Guide has 4.5K ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of Audubon Bird Guide's written reviews are positive against 50% of Wayne County Recycles's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Audubon Bird Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, Wayne County Recycles every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Audubon Bird Guide versus Wayne County Recycles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAudubon Bird GuideWayne County Recycles
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4.5K ratings) — better4.2 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews64.2% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4.5K — better23
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size355 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNational Audubon SocietyCounty of Wayne

Customer experience

Audubon Bird Guide

All ratings4,525 ratings
Positive82.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews240 reviews
Positive64.2%
Neutral6.3%
Negative29.6%

Wayne County Recycles

All ratings23 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral8.7%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Audubon Bird Guide

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when opening settings
  • Incorrect sighting location recording
  • Unreliable login and account features
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • Syncing and data loss problems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add photo ID and sound ID features
  • Improve location-based bird sightings
  • Expand coverage to more regions/countries
  • Allow offline access to field guide
  • Provide more detailed bird information
Show 2 more
  • Improve sorting and filtering options
  • Sync sightings with other platforms

Wayne County Recycles

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Audubon Bird Guide

No in-app purchases

None

Wayne County Recycles

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Audubon Bird Guide free?
Audubon Bird Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wayne County Recycles free?
Wayne County Recycles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Audubon Bird Guide or Wayne County Recycles?
Audubon Bird Guide is rated higher. Audubon Bird Guide averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Wayne County Recycles averages 4.2 from 23 ratings.
Do Audubon Bird Guide or Wayne County Recycles have ads?
Audubon Bird Guide shows ads; Wayne County Recycles does not.
Which is updated more often, Audubon Bird Guide or Wayne County Recycles?
Audubon Bird Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, and Wayne County Recycles every 4 months. Most recently, Audubon Bird Guide was updated on November 1, 2026 and Wayne County Recycles on October 20, 2026.

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