Wildlife Apps
Discover the Best Wildlife Apps UK for Identification and Recording
This guide highlights the best wildlife apps UK for identifying and recording species, helping you turn your smartphone into a powerful wildlife identification tool. Whether you’re spotting birds in your garden, identifying wildflowers on woodland walks, or logging wildlife sightings for conservation, these apps help you connect with nature while contributing valuable data to protect our native species — especially when creating wildlife-friendly spaces at home.
Best Wildlife Apps UK for Identification and Recording
Like all identification apps, results depend on image quality, sound clarity and context. However, suggestions should always be used as a starting point rather than a final answer. In particular, this is important when recording sightings for conservation purposes, where accuracy really matters.
Identify the birds you see or hear with the Merlin Bird App.
What Makes BirdTrack One of the Best Wildlife Apps UK for Recording?
Best for anyone who wants a straightforward way to identify garden birds by sight or sound.
Live birdsong identification – Listen to bird calls around you and receive real-time suggestions
Photo-based identification – Upload a bird photo for instant species suggestions
Guided identification – Answer simple questions about size, colour and behaviour to narrow down likely species
Building a garden species list – Keep track of the birds visiting your outdoor space
Improving identification skills – Compare recordings with known calls to build confidence over time
Record Wildlife. Build Knowledge. Support UK Conservation.
Best for people who want to go beyond identification and contribute meaningful records to UK conservation.
What can you use the iRecord App for?
Structured wildlife recording – Create verified wildlife observations in your garden or local greenspace with automatic GPS capture
AI-assisted identification – Upload photos and receive identification suggestions with probability ratings
Contributing to UK conservation – Records are verified by national recording schemes and shared with Local Environmental Records Centres
Detailed species recording – Add breeding status, life stage and abundance information where relevant
Multi-species surveys – Record birds, plants, insects and more within a single location
Offline recording – Works in remote areas, syncing data when connectivity returns
iRecord is widely used by ecologists, conservation organisations and volunteer recorders across the UK.
What can you use Seek for?
Identify plants, animals and fungi using your smartphone camera
Best for beginners and families looking for a straightforward introduction to wildlife identification.
Instant wildlife identification – Use your phone’s camera to identify plants, insects, fungi and other wildlife in real time
Beginner-friendly learning – Designed to be simple and intuitive, with no prior knowledge required
Garden exploration – Discover what’s growing and living in your garden or local green space
Family engagement – Encourage children’s curiosity with interactive challenges and achievements
Building identification confidence – Use AI suggestions as a starting point while learning key features
Seasonal discovery – Notice how wildlife changes throughout the year
Identify wildflowers and garden plants using your smartphone camera
Best for beginners and gardeners who want help identifying plants in their garden or local greenspace.
What can you use PlantNet for?
Photo-based plant identification – Take or upload a photo to receive species suggestions
Wildflower discovery – Identify native plants growing in lawns, meadows and hedgerows
Garden plant recognition – Learn the names of ornamental and naturalised species
Building botanical confidence – Use suggestions to compare leaf shape, flower structure and growth habit
Seasonal plant awareness – Explore how flowering and vegetation change throughout the year
In addition, PlantNet is a collaborative, research-backed project supported by botanical institutions.
Record the birds you see and contribute to national monitoring with BirdTrack by the British Trust for Ornithology.
What can you use BirdTrack for?
Best for anyone who wants to record bird sightings in the UK and support long-term conservation monitoring.
Submitting bird records – Log complete lists of birds seen on walks, in your garden, or at specific sites across the UK.
Contributing to national datasets – Your records feed directly into BTO monitoring schemes and help track seasonal and long-term population trends.
Migration tracking – Record first arrivals and seasonal movements to support research into migration patterns.
Garden bird monitoring – Keep a structured log of the birds visiting your garden throughout the year.
Viewing local sightings – See what other BirdTrack users have recorded nearby, with maps and species summaries.
Supporting conservation science – Data contributes to evidence used in national reporting and species conservation planning.