Date: 7/8/25 3:58 pm From: Carol Joan Patterson <0000003a0ccbe138-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Merlin
I agree with everything that Sandy says. Still, I find Merlin very helpful by calling my attention to the presence of a bird, or even teaching me the call of a bird. Here's an example: I am used to identifying Clay-colored Sparrows by sight, not sound, Donald too. Once he thought he heard a bird, but dismissed it as an insect. Merlin ID'd "Clay-colored Sparrow". First we listened to the Merlin vocals. Ahah! There was the "insect" call Donald had heard. Then we listened to the actual recording just made - and there it was. So we learned the Clay-colored Sparrow call. Since then Merlin has accurately identified this species, but also has called my pishing a Clay-colored Sparrow often enough that I hesitate to pish. I think Merlin is pretty accurate, but not by any means infallible. A few nights ago we heard an Eastern Whip-or-will. Merlin listed it before we heard it. Merlin is a very helpful teaching tool coupled with a real hunger to learn, not an answer in and of itself.
On Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at 04:31:06 PM CDT, Sandy Berger <sndbrgr...> wrote:
The problem I am seeing with the use of Merlin by those who have lost their hearing, and by novice birders, is that they are using it with a surety that the birds Merlin says it’s hearing are actually there. I’m an old-school birder having learned bird calls by actually hearing them and chasing down the birds, or going home and trying to find the calls on cds. Y’all remember those? There was no stick a device up in the air and it’ll tell you what it hears. Back in the day we also had to use a field guide that had words in them that kind of read like what a bird sounded like. And there was info on where to find birds, and how they migrated, and all the different plumages were shown. There was so much to learn. Does Merlin do all that? And do we really want to learn, to actually retain the bird song? Or do we just want an instant answer, which is the way the world is trending in every aspect. Just some of my thoughts. And a thought on formal birding field trips. How difficult it has become to lead a trip only to have five phones at the same time record calls and five people at the same time are calling out different bird names. And none of the birds are being seen. I would suggest that leaders ask groups to either not use Merlin, or to have one person use it. Again…just some of my thoughts.
SandyFort Smith
On Tue, Jul 8, 2025 at 3:13 PM Gmail <butchchq8...> wrote:
Joe,
I've organized a monthly backyard bird count for the residents of Bella Vista for the past six years. About two years ago, I added a Merlin count for those that were interested in participating. Over time, we'll compare the personal ID's with the Merlin ID's, but for now, I think it is really opening up the eyes of folks by opening up their ears, causing them to realize there are soooo many more birds out there than only come to feeders. This is especially so for novices and those whose hearing isn't quite what it used to be. Merlin has been a nice addition to the birders' arsenal.
ButchBella Vista
On Jul 8, 2025, at 12:24, betty_evans <betty_evans...> wrote:
I’m always interested to hear how people use Cornell’s Merlin app. I compare these comments with my own experience. The current issue of Cornell’s Living Bird (summer 2025) has a really interesting essay by Andrew J. Lewis, “Listening, Belonging, and the Patterns we live by.” It is a very good read about his experience in using Merlin. I don’t have a link to the article, but if anyone knows how to get a link, please post it for others who don’t subscribe to the magazine.
