Roost
Most birding apps either bury you in data or feel like spreadsheets, so I built a clean, mobile-first companion for logging sightings, building a life list, and discovering how rare each bird is right where you are. It stitches together eBird, GBIF, and AI to make even a backyard bird feel like a find. Come explore Roost!
What It Does
- Log the birds you spot and grow a personal life list and collection
- "Rare near you" tier on every species, plus live eBird Rare Bird Alerts
- Identify birds from a photo or an audio recording
- Hundreds of tiered medals and rotating quests to chase
- A Find-a-Bird map with hotspots, nearby reports, and a targets board
- Lookout: browse a friend's bird-camera detections and log what lands
- A regional Almanac with weather, hotspots, and what's unusual this week
How It Works
Frontend
- Built with React and TypeScript on Vite, styled with Tailwind
- Installable PWA, designed mobile-first with offline-friendly caching
- TanStack Query for data fetching, optimistic updates, and cache sync
- Leaflet maps for hotspots, sightings, and the targets board
- Faceted filters, a tiered medal "coin" system, journal, and streaks
- Web push notifications for new detections and milestones
Backend
- ASP.NET Core (.NET 9) API with Dapper and parameterized SQL, no ORM
- Azure SQL database and Azure Blob Storage for user photos and media
- Integrates eBird (taxonomy, notable alerts, nearby reports, hotspots) and