Have you ever dreamed of traversing the globe in search of exotic birds, from the icy landscapes of Nunavut to the lush rivers of Peru, all without leaving the comfort of your home? As a seasoned birder, I thought I had experienced it all. That was until I discovered a revolutionary way to explore avian wonders: Google On Street View.
In just the past week, I’ve virtually witnessed Torrent Ducks gracefully navigating Peruvian rivers, marveled at an Ivory Gull soaring above Nunavut’s ice floes, and observed a Black Kite perched majestically in Queensland, Australia. I even encountered the tiny, endangered Cobb’s Wrens scurrying across a Falkland Islands beach and watched majestic condors ride the Andean thermals. All of this, remarkably, without packing a bag, booking a flight, or enduring a single moment of jet lag. My secret? I’ve become an avid Google on Street View birder.
Google Street View, a vast repository of panoramic imagery within Google Maps, offers an unparalleled virtual journey across over 10 million miles of streets and trails spanning more than 80 countries. It’s a digital window to the world, and for birding enthusiasts, it has unlocked a fascinating new frontier.
Like many, my initial encounter with Google Street View in the late 2000s was a playful attempt to locate my own house. While that proved unsuccessful (perhaps I was out birding at the time!), my curiosity was piqued. Unlike most who moved on, I wondered: could I find birds?
The unique nature of Google on Street View birding quickly became apparent. You inherently know birds are out there – the world is teeming with them. Yet, as you virtually traverse landscapes, stretches of emptiness dominate. The process involves a meticulous, almost painstaking exploration: clicking, dragging, and panning the camera, hoping to catch a glimpse of a bird perched on a wire or fencepost. Successes are often fleeting – a tiny, dark speck, barely discernible in the Street View camera’s resolution. Adding to the challenge, the imagery itself is fragmented in time and space. Each new frame represents a few meters and seconds apart, meaning a bird in flight in one frame might vanish in the next, lost to a turn or dive.
Despite these quirks, persistence pays off. My initial successes in 2013 – Laughing Gulls in Florida, a Great Egret in Texas – were documented on my blog. These early finds fueled further explorations during office downtime, leading to more discoveries. Google’s introduction of backpack-mounted cameras expanded the possibilities, revealing stunning avian captures in places like Midway Atoll and the Falkland Islands, and dedicated virtual trips to Mexico, Florida, and beyond.
Chinstrap Penguins, Baily Head, Antarctica.*
Yet, the real transformation occurred when I shared this peculiar passion on Facebook. Creating the “Google Street View Birding” Facebook group in early November, I casually invited members of the “Birding Memes” group, hoping a few tech-savvy birders might join. The response was beyond anything I anticipated.
Within weeks, over 750 birders flocked to the group, collectively scrolling through millions of Street View miles in pursuit of birds. The results have been astounding. Where I initially managed to identify a few dozen common species – the usual herons, gulls, and Rock Pigeons – the community has now cataloged over 580 different species, roughly 5% of all bird species known to exist. The group buzzes with activity around the clock, members posting screenshots, links, and engaging in lively debates about species identification.
The sheer scope of the search and the collaborative effort to decipher grainy images are truly remarkable. We’ve identified over 30 gull species, including the stunning Ivory Gull in Nunavut. We’ve spotted Kelp Geese in the Falklands, Laysan Ducks on Midway, Bald Eagles in Texas, and both California and Andean Condors. Remarkably, we’ve even found smaller birds like a Vermilion Flycatcher in the Galapagos and a Rufous Hummingbird in Alaska. Each sighting, complete with a screenshot and Google Maps link, becomes a community project, fostering collective identification and validation.
