Birding Planner
MCP server + daily email briefing for Cincinnati-area migration monitoring.
MCP Server Tools
All 10 tools for interactive birding planning in Claude Desktop:
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
plan_birding_trip |
Ranks nearby hotspots by recent species count + migration activity |
migration_forecast |
BirdCast radar data + NWS weather interpretation |
hotspot_details |
Recent species and notable sightings at a single hotspot |
compare_hotspots |
Side-by-side species comparison with iNaturalist verification |
species_finder |
Where a species has been seen recently near a location |
best_day_to_bird |
Recommends the best day in a date range using migration + weather |
birding_weather |
NWS overnight/morning forecast interpreted for migration prediction |
verify_sighting |
Cross-references eBird reports against iNaturalist photo-verified obs |
birding_window |
Sunrise, civil twilight, and recommended arrival time |
species_frequency |
Historical peak week and current phenology status via BirdCast |
Setup
1. API Keys
- eBird API key (required): https://ebird.org/api/keygen — free
- BirdCast API key (required): contact BirdCast at https://birdcast.info for API access
- Resend API key (for email): https://resend.com — free tier, 3,000 emails/month
2. Environment
Copy .env.example to .env and fill in your keys:
cp .env.example .env
3. Install dependencies
npm install
4. Claude Desktop Integration
Add to your Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ebird-birding-planner": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/ebird-birding-planner/src/index.js"],
"env": {
"EBIRD_API_KEY": "your_key_here",
"BIRDCAST_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
}
}
}
}
Daily Briefing (Anthropic Routine)
The briefing runs as a cloud-hosted Anthropic Routine — no machine needs to be on.
How it works
- Agent runs at 5:45 AM ET daily during migration season
scripts/triage.jsfetches BirdCast + NWS data and outputs a JSON recommendation- Agent decides: full briefing / quiet-period note / silent skip
scripts/briefing.jsbuilds HTML email and sends via Resend
Test locally
# Run triage check (outputs JSON recommendation)
node scripts/triage.js
# Generate briefing HTML (saves to ./briefing-output/ if no Resend key)
node scripts/briefing.js
# Generate quiet-period email
node scripts/briefing.js --quiet
Set up the Routine
See routine-prompt.md for the exact prompt to paste into claude.ai when creating the Routine. Required secrets to configure:
EBIRD_API_KEYBIRDCAST_API_KEYRESEND_API_KEYBRIEFING_EMAIL_TOBRIEFING_REGION(default: US-OH-061)BRIEFING_LAT/BRIEFING_LNG(default: 39.1 / -84.5)
Architecture
src/
index.js — MCP server (10 tools)
ebird-client.js — eBird API v2 wrapper
birdcast-client.js — BirdCast radar data
nws-client.js — NWS Weather API
inaturalist-client.js — iNaturalist photo verification
utils.js — Cache, location resolution, date parsing
scripts/
triage.js — Fast migration check, outputs JSON
briefing.js — HTML email builder + Resend sender
