BirdUp 1.2.0 — Streaks, smarter maps, and a better way to log

This is the biggest update since BirdUp launched. There's a new way to track your birding habit, smarter maps for working out what's around, a faster sighting log, and a profile that's properly yours.

Keep your streak alive

• A new Streak history screen. Reach it from the "This week" card on your home screen or the new Birding section in your profile. It opens on your current streak in big, friendly figures, with a nudge to log a bird today and keep it going.
• Your birding, at a glance. See your longest streak, the total number of days you've been out, and how long it's been since your very first sighting.
• A field-journal calendar. Every day you logged a bird gets an egg stamp, with consecutive days strung together so a good run reads as one unbroken line. Scrub between months, tap a day for detail, and see your recent runs listed with a live marker on the streak that's still going.

A streak turns the occasional outing into a habit. Now you can see the habit building — and you'll know exactly when you need to get out and log a bird to keep it alive.

See what's likely — anywhere

• "Likely here" on the Explore map. A new tab in the Explore sheet lets you drop or drag a pin anywhere — your local patch, a spot you're planning to visit — and see the species most likely to be there this month, ranked, searchable, and with a notable-only filter. No need to physically be there or rely on GPS.
• Distribution maps on every species. Species profiles now show a map of Australia tinted state by state to show where the bird is found. Tap a state to read it in plain English — "Lives here year-round", "Seen here Apr–Sep", or "Rare visitor" — with the proper ornithological term a tap away if you want it. The map is built into the app, so it's instant and works offline.

A better way to log

• Full-screen logging. Logging a sighting now opens as a full-screen page rather than a half-height sheet, so there's more room to work and no way to accidentally swipe a half-filled form away and lose it.
• Several behaviours at once. A bird is rarely doing just one thing — a kookaburra can be perched and calling. You can now tap as many behaviour chips as apply, all laid out in front of you, and each new behaviour you record for a species is celebrated in your insights.
• Check the bird before you commit. Tapping a species in the log picker now opens its full profile first, so you can compare the field marks and confirm the ID before tapping "Use this species".
• Edit species and photos after the fact. Got the ID wrong, or want to tidy up your photos? You can now change the species on a logged sighting and add or remove photos — and those edits actually stick.

Make it yours

• Choose a username. New birders pick a username when they join, and you can change it any time from your profile. It's how other birders find you and where your profile and streaks live.
• Add a profile photo. Tap your avatar to take a new photo or pick one from your library, frame it square, and it's set — appearing straight away while it uploads in the background.

Stay in the loop

• New notification controls. On top of streak reminders and the weekly summary, you can now choose to be told when an event you've joined is about to start, when its final results are in, and when someone passes you on a leaderboard — or switch any of them off.

Faster, and better offline

• Your life list reads right with no signal. Sightings logged offline now show the correct common and scientific names instead of "Unknown species".
• More of the app works offline — species profiles, nearby species, and habitat detail all load from your device after the first sync.
• Fewer crashes and unexpected sign-outs. Adding photos to a log is lighter on memory, a dodgy connection no longer logs you out, and species thumbnails no longer vanish after a reinstall or phone upgrade.
• We've also moved to the latest Expo platform under the hood to keep things current.

What's next

We're still rolling out Field Marks across all 850+ species, with more to come for events and habitat. If there's something you'd like us to prioritise, let us know.