Question 1

What’s the lay of the land of the Feathers ecosystem?

Accepted Answer

Feathers combines a web home base for your birding data with an iOS app for fast field entry. You can log sightings and sessions on mobile, then review, edit, and analyze everything on the web.

Question 2

Why is there a mobile app and a web app?

Accepted Answer

The mobile app is optimized for quick, offline-friendly birding data capture in the field, while the web app is designed for reviewing, organizing, editing, and analyzing that data on a larger screen.

Question 3

How do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Create an account on feathersapp.io, download the iOS app, log in, and record your first sighting or session. After uploading a session, you can review everything on the web.

Question 4

What’s a sighting?

Accepted Answer

A sighting is an encounter with a specific species. Each sighting has its own timestamp and GPS coordinates so you can document precise locations and keep separate notes for separate encounters.

Question 5

What’s a session?

Accepted Answer

A session represents a birding excursion, from a short feeder watch to a longer hike or pelagic trip. Sessions include high-level metadata plus the list of sightings recorded during that outing.

Question 6

Can sightings be added outside of sessions?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Sightings are first-class entities in Feathers and do not need to be tied to a session.

Question 7

How do I upload sightings?

Accepted Answer

You can upload sightings from the mobile app while in the field or from the web app afterward. On mobile, create a new sighting from your current location or as part of a session, and on the web you can add or edit sightings with more details.

Question 8

How do I upload sessions?

Accepted Answer

Sessions are typically created in the mobile app while birding, but they can also be created or edited on the web. A session can include sightings, photos, audio, video, weather data, and notes.

Question 9

What are tags?

Accepted Answer

Tags let you track anything meaningful to you over time. They can be applied to sightings or sessions, and when applied to a session they are automatically applied to all sightings recorded during that session.

Question 10

What are locations and custom regions?

Accepted Answer

Locations are named places you define and use like tags. Custom regions are user-drawn map boundaries that automatically associate sightings within that area, making them useful for yard lists, patch lists, and other area-based tracking.

Question 11

How can I set up custom lists?

Accepted Answer

Spotlight lists let you define the parameters of lists you care about, such as a year list for a specific area using date boundaries and selected counties or regions.

Question 12

Payment — what’s free, and how do I request more sightings?

Accepted Answer

All users currently receive 1,000 free sightings. If you hit your limit and are enjoying Feathers, you can request additional quota from your Account page.

Question 13

Can I share a session or a sighting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. By default, all sightings and sessions are private. From the web, you can use the Share button on a sighting or session page to generate a public, view-only link.

Question 14

Can I share a sighting in real time from the field?

Accepted Answer

Yes. While birding, you can generate a share link directly from the Sightings tab in the mobile app. The shared page includes a map, directions, and notes.

Frequently asked questions