Birdie

Birdie is a menu-bar application for macOS and Windows that displays an animated bird or uploaded photo notification when calendar meetings are about to begin. It addresses the problem of losing track of time during focused work by providing a visual reminder that flies across the screen.

The tool integrates read-only with Google Calendar and Outlook or Microsoft 365. It monitors upcoming events and can trigger the notification at the scheduled start time or up to five minutes early. If the user is already in the call, the notification remains inactive. The flying element tows a banner that shows meeting details such as title and time; hovering over it pauses the animation for closer viewing. Users can select from different bird characters or upload any photo, which appears as a circular image. All processing occurs locally on the device with no data transmitted externally.

Birdie runs continuously in the menu bar on Mac or the system tray on Windows. It is delivered as a free downloadable desktop application for both platforms. The design emphasizes a lightweight, non-intrusive presence that activates only for scheduled meetings.