As long as I can remember, I have held a deep fascination for the outdoors.

Although hunting and fishing have always been my main attractions, so many other aspects and diversions related to the natural world have often consumed my attention as well. And each new facet of the natural world seems to unlock its own special niche in the grand scheme of things.

When I developed an interest in fly-fishing as an eager 12-year-old, for instance, that pursuit soon progressed into the desire to tie my own flies.

The need to understand what the bugs that I was trying to imitate actually looked like encouraged me to acquire a basic knowledge of aquatic entomology and the ecology of trout streams.

I was also fortunate to have grown up in the country, surrounded by woods and a nearby stream that provided endless hours of recreation and learning during my youth.

Seeing wildlife, sometimes literally in our backyard, was a regular occurrence and one that I always appreciated. Most of those sightings in the daytime were common critters like rabbits, squirrels or the occasional deer.

Sometimes at night, car headlights or outdoor spotlights would reveal the presence of a raccoon, opossum or skunk on a nocturnal jaunt. But by far the most diverse and captivating wildlife available were the birds.

From little sparrows and wrens to much larger crows and turkey vultures, it soon became obvious that many dozens of species of birds were all around where I lived and might be spotted on any given day.

Of course, I often saw birds I didn’t know but wanted to identify. It wasn’t long before I bought a pair of binoculars and a copy of the “Peterson Field Guide to Birds,” which helped me identify and learn more about the local birds I saw or could expect to see. That knowledge has inspired a lifelong awareness of the birds around me during fishing or hunting trips or other outdoors activities.

While I enjoy looking for birds any time I’m outside, I consider myself an enthusiast rather an expert birder. True experts are able identify many if not most species of birds by their calls, something I have never acquired the skill to do.

Years ago, I went on a hike with an expert birder. It was an impressive display of talent as he would listen to a distant birdsong and declare the species that had made it. I would then scan the surrounding trees and bushes with binoculars where I would always get visual confirmation of his identification.

Naturally, I know some of the easiest and most obvious birdcalls like robins, catbirds, cardinals, mourning doves, or red-bellied woodpeckers, but my repertoire of recognizable bird sounds is woefully smaller than I would like.

Last fall, however, I found an interesting resource that is almost as good as having an expert birder at our side whenever you need it. Several of us met for a stream-side lunch during a day of trout fishing.

While we were eating, a blue jay began scolding us from high in a nearby oak tree. Because it was late September and most birds had already left central Pennsylvania for better weather down south, I remarked that it was nice to hear a bird even if it was the piercing cry of a blue jay. I also lamented that I wished I new birdcalls better in general.

One of my friends in the group asked me if I was aware of a cellphone app called Merlin. I confessed I was not. He then pulled out his phone and demonstrated how it worked for me.

Merlin is a wonderful bird identification produced by the Ornithology Lab of Cornell University for smart phones and other mobile devices.

Merlin helps identify birds in several uncomplicated ways. Users can answer some basic questions to describe the bird, upload a photo of the bird, or record a bird singing.

It also provides lists of birds by region for folks who are interested in learning what birds are likely to be around them during a particular season of the year. And surprisingly, Merlin is a free app.

Because most birds I get a good look at or could take a reasonable photo of I can probably identify without using the app, I haven’t used the visual identification features of Merlin much. Using the song identification feature of it, however, has been useful and fun so far. You simply open the app on your phone and tap the record button. Most of the time, it only takes a few seconds to get an answer.

My first experience with getting an ID from Merlin was while I was fishing one dreary day back in mid-March. A bird was singing enthusiastically in a nearby tree, but I couldn’t locate it visually. So I pulled out my phone, turned on Merlin, and hit record.

Almost instantly, “Carolina wren” flashed on the screen. I smiled to myself, thinking wrens are so tiny that’s why I couldn’t pick it out with my unaided eye.

During the next week or two, our region will experience the peak of spring bird migration as many interesting species of warblers and other birds on their way to their breeding territories farther north will be passing through.

Most of our trees are leafed out now, so spotting these colorful migrants can be difficult, making their distinctive calls the only way to get an ID on them. I’m planning to get a lot of use from Merlin during that time.