One of the topics of conversation on Saturday's Warbler Walk in Darien with Cynthia Ehlinger (thanks again, Cynthia!) was the Merlin Bird ID sound feature. I've not used this prior to this spring, and have had fun seeing what it can do. Summary: it's very good. Much better than I expected it would be - a credit to the power of clever people using machine learning, and to the audio engineering in modern smartphones. Merlin picks up the overwhelming majority of audible birds, and with a few amusing misses, it is extremely accurate. I mentioned to the group that when I turned it on at home prior to the bird walk, I scoffed when a Black-billed Cuckoo popped up as one of the first birds. But lo and behold, the next morning there was indeed a Black-billed Cuckoo calling from the nearby swamp. So the app heard something I missed. On the other hand, I don't think that we had a Lewis's Woodpecker in the neighborhood, and the croak of a green frog became a Great Blue Heron. Overall, Merlin Sound ID is a great resource. It's made me listen differently, though it also has me looking at the phone more and looking at the trees less. And as I mentioned on Saturday, I can sympathize with London cab drivers - a skill that took years to develop is now replaced by a phone app. Happy Birding! Rick Wilton, CT

Interesting to see this as I recently downloaded this app. I’m a new birder and was very excited to have the app identify some “rare” birds( Tennessee Warbler, White-eye Vireo, ) and other birds that are new to me ( Nashville Warbler, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow,Yellow-throated Vireo.) It’s also picking up a Scarlet Tanger, Indigo Bunting and Dark-eyed Junco consistently. I planned to ask more experienced birders if these are likely. I have not been able to spot any of these . Kelly Quinn Thomaston > On May 17, 2022, at 4:18 PM, Rick Kenneally via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > One of the topics of conversation on Saturday's Warbler Walk in Darien with > Cynthia Ehlinger (thanks again, Cynthia!) was the Merlin Bird ID sound > feature. I've not used this prior to this spring, and have had fun seeing > what it can do. > > Summary: it's very good. Much better than I expected it would be - a > credit to the power of clever people using machine learning, and to the > audio engineering in modern smartphones. Merlin picks up the overwhelming > majority of audible birds, and with a few amusing misses, it is extremely > accurate. > > I mentioned to the group that when I turned it on at home prior to the bird > walk, I scoffed when a Black-billed Cuckoo popped up as one of the first > birds. But lo and behold, the next morning there was indeed a Black-billed > Cuckoo calling from the nearby swamp. So the app heard something I missed. > > On the other hand, I don't think that we had a Lewis's Woodpecker in the > neighborhood, and the croak of a green frog became a Great Blue Heron. > > Overall, Merlin Sound ID is a great resource. It's made me listen > differently, though it also has me looking at the phone more and looking at > the trees less. > > And as I mentioned on Saturday, I can sympathize with London cab drivers - > a skill that took years to develop is now replaced by a phone app. > > Happy Birding! > > Rick > Wilton, CT > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/

Hey Kelly - I’m not the most experienced birder, but I’ve found it’s more than likely Merlin is hearing a Chipping Sparrow (or perhaps Worm-eating Warbler) and IDing as Dark-eyed Junco. If you’re able to do a separate recording you can most definitely find more than a few willing reviewers of tapes in this group 😁 Happy birding! David Norwalk CT Sent from my iPhone. > On May 17, 2022, at 5:30 PM, Kelly QUinn via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > Interesting to see this as I recently downloaded this app. I’m a new birder and was very excited to have the app identify some “rare” birds( Tennessee Warbler, White-eye Vireo, ) and other birds that are new to me ( Nashville Warbler, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow,Yellow-throated Vireo.) > It’s also picking up a Scarlet Tanger, Indigo Bunting and Dark-eyed Junco consistently. > > I planned to ask more experienced birders if these are likely. I have not been able to spot any of these . > > Kelly Quinn > Thomaston > >> On May 17, 2022, at 4:18 PM, Rick Kenneally via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: >> >> One of the topics of conversation on Saturday's Warbler Walk in Darien with >> Cynthia Ehlinger (thanks again, Cynthia!) was the Merlin Bird ID sound >> feature. I've not used this prior to this spring, and have had fun seeing >> what it can do. >> >> Summary: it's very good. Much better than I expected it would be - a >> credit to the power of clever people using machine learning, and to the >> audio engineering in modern smartphones. Merlin picks up the overwhelming >> majority of audible birds, and with a few amusing misses, it is extremely >> accurate. >> >> I mentioned to the group that when I turned it on at home prior to the bird >> walk, I scoffed when a Black-billed Cuckoo popped up as one of the first >> birds. But lo and behold, the next morning there was indeed a Black-billed >> Cuckoo calling from the nearby swamp. So the app heard something I missed. >> >> On the other hand, I don't think that we had a Lewis's Woodpecker in the >> neighborhood, and the croak of a green frog became a Great Blue Heron. >> >> Overall, Merlin Sound ID is a great resource. It's made me listen >> differently, though it also has me looking at the phone more and looking at >> the trees less. >> >> And as I mentioned on Saturday, I can sympathize with London cab drivers - >> a skill that took years to develop is now replaced by a phone app. >> >> Happy Birding! >> >> Rick >> Wilton, CT >> >> CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ >> CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/

Hi Kelly, I also found Merlin hearing an Indigo Bunting that I couldn't pick out. David is correct about the Junco. But the Scarlet Tanager is likely correct. They are here in good numbers now. Rick Wilton On Tue, May 17, 2022 at 5:30 PM Kelly QUinn <kelquinn617@icloud.com> wrote: > Interesting to see this as I recently downloaded this app. I’m a new > birder and was very excited to have the app identify some “rare” birds( > Tennessee Warbler, White-eye Vireo, ) and other birds that are new to me ( > Nashville Warbler, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow,Yellow-throated Vireo.) > It’s also picking up a Scarlet Tanger, Indigo Bunting and Dark-eyed Junco > consistently. > > I planned to ask more experienced birders if these are likely. I have not > been able to spot any of these . > > Kelly Quinn > Thomaston > > >

All, As has already been said, Merlin is a useful tool, especially for learning--and even detecting the potential presence of a bird. I tested this morning in the yard and had the following (perhaps representative) results over 13m25s, which I derive as follows: (1) those birds I could confirm were present, I counted; and (2) those birds that I could not, I examined the recording and spectrogram that Merlin creates to see whether it was correct or erred (note that the app tries to give you its best approximation of the registered sounds by cross-referencing a database--I presume it does so by comparing spectrograms "visually"). It correctly suggested (it doesn't identify): House Wren Tufted Titmouse Wood Thrush Red-eyed Vireo Gray Catbird Eastern Phoebe Blue Jay Cedar Waxwing American Robin Mourning Dove Chipping Sparrow Great Crested Flycatcher American Redstart House Finch Pileated Woodpecker Black-capped Chickadee It incorrectly suggested: Brown Thrasher (it was a Catbird) Swainson's Thrush (it was a Wood Thrush) Northern Mockingbird (it was a Catbird) Indigo Bunting (it was a chipmunk) Yellow-throated Vireo (it was a Red-eyed Vireo) Black-billed Cuckoo (it was chipmunk) Note that all of the mistaken suggestions are birds found in the area at this time (although Brown Thrasher would have been a new yard bird). I agree with others that it is a useful learning and detection tool. And if you are leaning on it for more than that (exceptionally), which is ill-advised, I would suggest downloading the .wav file and reviewing and analyzing the spectrogram carefully with good (free) audio software like Audacity. Happy birding, David Lawton Avon Le mar. 17 mai 2022 à 18:07, Rick Kenneally via CTBirds < ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> a écrit : > Hi Kelly, > > I also found Merlin hearing an Indigo Bunting that I couldn't pick out. > David is correct about the Junco. > > But the Scarlet Tanager is likely correct. They are here in good numbers > now. > > Rick > Wilton > > On Tue, May 17, 2022 at 5:30 PM Kelly QUinn <kelquinn617@icloud.com> > wrote: > > > Interesting to see this as I recently downloaded this app. I’m a new > > birder and was very excited to have the app identify some “rare” birds( > > Tennessee Warbler, White-eye Vireo, ) and other birds that are new to me > ( > > Nashville Warbler, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow,Yellow-throated Vireo.) > > It’s also picking up a Scarlet Tanger, Indigo Bunting and Dark-eyed Junco > > consistently. > > > > I planned to ask more experienced birders if these are likely. I have not > > been able to spot any of these . > > > > Kelly Quinn > > Thomaston > > > > > > > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing > birders together statewide. Please support COA: > https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For > list rules and subscription information visit: > https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ -- D. Lawton

How could it get the Thrasher, the Thrushes and the Vireos wrong? As for chipmunks, I could see it getting confused for bird chips but I no longer get fooled by chipmunks. They have a certain rhythm. The Yellow-Throated Vireo was one of the first birds I learned to identify way back in the late 1930s at Black Swamp in Springdale (now tamed down as Sleepy Hollow Park but still a few birds around there.) I used to think they sounded like a person calling out Bingo numbers, especially Thirty-Eight. I don't have Merlin - I don't even have a cell phone. On Tue, May 17, 2022 at 6:25 PM David Lawton via CTBirds < ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > All, > As has already been said, Merlin is a useful tool, especially for > learning--and even detecting the potential presence of a bird. I tested > this morning in the yard and had the following (perhaps representative) > results over 13m25s, which I derive as follows: (1) those birds I could > confirm were present, I counted; and (2) those birds that I could not, I > examined the recording and spectrogram that Merlin creates to see whether > it was correct or erred (note that the app tries to give you its best > approximation of the registered sounds by cross-referencing a database--I > presume it does so by comparing spectrograms "visually"). > > It correctly suggested (it doesn't identify): > > House Wren > Tufted Titmouse > Wood Thrush > Red-eyed Vireo > Gray Catbird > Eastern Phoebe > Blue Jay > Cedar Waxwing > American Robin > Mourning Dove > Chipping Sparrow > Great Crested Flycatcher > American Redstart > House Finch > Pileated Woodpecker > Black-capped Chickadee > > It incorrectly suggested: > > Brown Thrasher (it was a Catbird) > Swainson's Thrush (it was a Wood Thrush) > Northern Mockingbird (it was a Catbird) > Indigo Bunting (it was a chipmunk) > Yellow-throated Vireo (it was a Red-eyed Vireo) > Black-billed Cuckoo (it was chipmunk) > > Note that all of the mistaken suggestions are birds found in the area at > this time (although Brown Thrasher would have been a new yard bird). I > agree with others that it is a useful learning and detection tool. And if > you are leaning on it for more than that (exceptionally), which is > ill-advised, I would suggest downloading the .wav file and reviewing and > analyzing the spectrogram carefully with good (free) audio software like > Audacity. > > Happy birding, > > David Lawton > > Avon > > Le mar. 17 mai 2022 à 18:07, Rick Kenneally via CTBirds < > ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> a écrit : > > > Hi Kelly, > > > > I also found Merlin hearing an Indigo Bunting that I couldn't pick out. > > David is correct about the Junco. > > > > But the Scarlet Tanager is likely correct. They are here in good numbers > > now. > > > > Rick > > Wilton > > > > On Tue, May 17, 2022 at 5:30 PM Kelly QUinn <kelquinn617@icloud.com> > > wrote: > > > > > Interesting to see this as I recently downloaded this app. I’m a new > > > birder and was very excited to have the app identify some “rare” birds( > > > Tennessee Warbler, White-eye Vireo, ) and other birds that are new to > me > > ( > > > Nashville Warbler, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow,Yellow-throated > Vireo.) > > > It’s also picking up a Scarlet Tanger, Indigo Bunting and Dark-eyed > Junco > > > consistently. > > > > > > I planned to ask more experienced birders if these are likely. I have > not > > > been able to spot any of these . > > > > > > Kelly Quinn > > > Thomaston > > > > > > > > > > > > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing > > birders together statewide. Please support COA: > > https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For > > list rules and subscription information visit: > > https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ > > > > -- > D. Lawton > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing > birders together statewide. Please support COA: > https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For > list rules and subscription information visit: > https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/