Weird News
The ornithological artist drawing 1,000 birds by hand - all for an app that wants you off your phone
Ornithological illustrator Keith Hansen is hand-painting all 1,000 bird species recorded in the US and Canada for Flock, a birding app created by tech veterans
Key takeaways
- Keith Hansen is hand-painting approximately 1,000 bird species for the Flock app.
- Flock was created to encourage users to explore nature rather than monetizing their screen time.
- The creators self-funded the app to avoid being bound by investor rules.
- AI was used to animate Hansen's static illustrations to show how each bird moves.
- Bestselling author Amy Tan uses and praises the app for tracking backyard birds.
Ornithological illustrator Keith Hansen is hand-painting all 1,000 bird species recorded in the US and Canada for Flock, a birding app created by tech veterans Adam Donkin and Bob Stevenson. Designed to counter addictive screen habits, the app uses gaming elements to encourage outdoor exploration. To bring the artwork to life, Stevenson used AI under Hansen's guidance to create realistic animations of the birds, helping the self-funded app grow to 1,000 users, including author Amy Tan.
It demonstrates how technology and AI can be designed to reconnect people with nature.
In their words
“We didn’t want to make something that got you addicted to the dopamine hit of getting a like, or followers”
“hands down the most beautiful bird app and the easiest one to track and share sightings of my backyard birds”
By the numbers
- 1,000
- Bird species recorded from the US and Canada
- 420
- Bird illustrations completed by Keith Hansen
- 584
- Bird illustrations remaining to complete the compendium
- 52
- Age of Flock co-creator Adam Donkin
How it unfolded
- Keith Hansen settles in Bolinas after studying birds
- Keith Hansen opens his art gallery in Bolinas
- Adam Donkin moves to Marin and meets Keith Hansen
- Stevenson and Donkin set to work building Flock
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Common questions
- What happened with Keith Hansen's hand-painted bird illustrations for the Flock app?
- Keith Hansen is hand-painting approximately 1,000 bird species for the Flock app.
- Where can I read the original report?
- Read the full report at Guardian World.
