Know what you saw. See more next time.
Life List turns Claude into the patient birding friend who always knows what's around. It works through IDs the way experts do (place, season and shape first), tells you honestly how sure it is, keeps your lists tidy, and plans outings with realistic targets for your area and season.
Get Life List Birding Companion for $15 Find my best hours
- One-time $15
- Instant email delivery
- 14-day refund
- Works on any Claude plan, even free
ID check: small brown bird, backyard feeder
Ohio · late January · sparrow-sized · scratching under the feeder
Fits place and season1 look-alike ruled outSafe to count
- LikelyWhite-throated SparrowBold head stripes, yellow spot by the bill, white throatConfident
- Ruled outWhite-crowned SparrowNo white throat or yellow lores; uncommon here in winterNo
- CheckTan-striped adult or a young bird?Both are White-throated; the throat and yellow lores still showNote
- ListLife list: 87 species (+1)Year list: 23 · next target: Fox Sparrow at the same feederAdded
Everything a birding mentor helps with
From backyard feeders to a big year. Works anywhere, in your region's names and units.
Honest bird ID
Descriptions, photos and sound descriptions, with confidence levels and the look-alikes to rule out.
Life and year lists
Life, year, yard, county and trip lists with running totals and an eBird-friendly CSV.
Outing plans
Where and when to go, the habitat edges to walk, and 5 to 10 realistic targets.
Migration timing
What's moving in your area and when, plus the weather that brings fallouts.
Hard groups made easier
Hawks, fall warblers, gulls, sparrows and sandpipers, with the marks that actually matter.
Ethical birding
Playback, photography, sensitive species, feeders and what to do with an injured bird.
Ask it like you'd ask a birding mentor
It starts with where and when, then the bird.
Likely Cooper's Hawk, but let's check two things
Both visit feeders in winter and both fit Pennsylvania. "Crow-sized" points to Cooper's (a female Cooper's is about crow size; Sharp-shinned is closer to a jay), but males and females overlap, so size alone isn't enough.
What separates them
- Tail tip: rounded with a wide white band on Cooper's; squarer with a thin band on Sharp-shinned.
- Head: big and blocky on Cooper's, sticking out ahead of the wings in flight; small and tucked in on Sharp-shinned.
Count it? If you saw the rounded tail or the big head, yes. If not, log it as "Accipiter sp." for now. Even experts do.
Next time, a photo of the tail from below settles it.
Honest about what it can tell
Life List would rather say "can't tell from this" than put a wrong bird on your list.
- Confidence levelsConfident, Likely, Possible, or Can't tell, and what would settle it.
- Rarities flaggedCommon look-alikes first, then photos and an eBird report for review.
- Birds firstNo sharing nest or roost locations, and careful advice on playback.
- No live sightingsIt points you to eBird's recent sightings and alerts, instead of guessing.
Up and running in two minutes
No app to learn and nothing to install on your computer. It lives inside Claude.
Buy once
Pay $15 by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download link arrives by email in about a minute.
Add it to Claude
Upload the ZIP in Claude under Customize, then Skills. It takes about 30 seconds. No setup, no accounts.
Just ask
"What is this bird?" "Plan a spring morning at my local marsh." "Add these 12 birds to my year list."
Start with the free ID Helper
A small skill that asks the right questions about a bird you saw or heard, gives the most likely species with an honest confidence level, and says whether it's safe to count.
- Place and season checked first
- Look-alikes and how to tell them apart
- The one thing to check next time
Get Life List Birding Companion
Pay once, use it every time you go out. Includes the free ID Helper too.
How to add it
- Claude on the web or desktop: don't unzip it. Open Customize, then Skills, click +, choose Upload a skill and pick the ZIP. It works on any Claude plan, including the free one: just turn on code execution in Settings, Capabilities.
- Claude Code:
unzip life-list-birding-companion.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/ - Start a new chat and try: "I bird around my town and keep a simple list. Help me figure out a bird I saw this morning."
Life List Birding Companion
Identify, list, plan and learn.
$15 one time
- Honest ID with confidence levels
- Life, year and trip lists
- eBird-friendly CSV
- Outing and trip plans
- Migration timing
- Hard-group guides
- Ethics, feeders and photography
- Updates for a year
Secure checkout by Stripe. Taxes calculated at checkout. 14-day refund.
Prefer to buy on Etsy? Get it on Etsy
New to Claude?
Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic, like ChatGPT. Life List is a skill: a set of expert instructions you add to your own Claude account, so Claude answers like a patient birding mentor who knows the craft.
- Make a Claude account at claude.ai. Skills work on every plan, including the free one; paid plans give more usage.
- Turn on code execution in Settings, Capabilities (skills need it).
- Try the free ID Helper skill first. If you like it, the full skill is one purchase.
Not ready for Claude? The free birding hours planner on this site works in any browser, no account needed.
Questions
Does it replace Merlin or eBird?
No, it works alongside them. Merlin is great for quick suggestions and sound ID; eBird is the record and shows recent sightings. Life List helps you understand an ID, keep your lists and plan outings.
Can I send photos?
Yes. Send Claude a photo and it will use it, while being honest about light, angle and blur.
Does it work outside North America?
Yes. Tell it where you bird and it uses your region's species, names and seasons.
Can it hear a recording?
Describe the sound in words (rhythm, pitch, what it reminds you of) and it will work with that. For recordings, use Merlin Sound ID and treat the result as a hint.
What do I need to use it?
A Claude account on any plan, including the free one, with code execution turned on (Settings, Capabilities). Free accounts have lower usage limits, so long planning sessions go further on a paid plan. It works in Claude on the web, the desktop app and Claude Code.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Email hello@whatiflabs.ai within 14 days of buying and we'll refund you in full. No forms, no questions.