I’ve noticed that Merlin will sometimes pick up a bird that was very far away, that I didn’t hear at the time because I was focusing on a closer bird. When I see the species light up on the screen, I can switch my attention and try to find the other bird(s) that Merlin showed.
This made me aware of another challenge I could face is when two birds are calling at the same time and Merlin catches the distant one I didn’t hear, but not the closer one I did hear. If those birds were new to me, I could be “learning” the wrong things. This is yet another reason not to blindly trust Merlin’s output.
Part of me wishes, Merlin would add frog chirps to their app. I sometimes get frustrated when nothing shows up on Merlin, then realize it wasn’t a bird! 😂
—Debra
On Apr 16, 2026, at 6:51 PM, Michael Bernard via groups.io <mbernard128...> wrote:
Well said. Merlin has really enhanced my birding by ear, especially when I am out west or anywhere else I don’t spend much time. But it shouldn’t be the sole criterion for a bird record. Great tool when used the right way.
> On Apr 16, 2026, at 5:29 PM, Van Remsen via groups.io <vnremsen...> wrote:
>
> Before I get accused of "hating Merlin", I should follow-up by making it
> clear that I think Merlin is great for learning bird songs and detecting
> species one might not have noticed. It's an amazing tool. What I "hate"
> is when Merlin output is uncritically considered the same as eBird input.
> "Trust but Verify" as the saying goes.
>
> Van Remsen
>
>> On Thu, Apr 16, 2026 at 12:14 PM Van Remsen via groups.io <vnremsen=
>> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>>
>> LABIRD: Most people in this venue have heard multiple times that MERLIN
>> frequently makes mistakes and should never be relied on as the sole
>> evidence for an eBird entry. Merlin's own directions emphasize this. Yet
>> many eBirder seem unaware of this and treat Merlin hits as sufficient
>> evidence for presence.
>>
>> Yesterday provided a poignant example. A single Summer Tanager singing
>> was identified as 3 separate species: Am. Robin, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
>> and Summer Tanager. Yes, the same individual bird. Yeah, the songs are
>> kind of similar but not THAT similar.
>>
>> As I have mentioned previously, I did 30 trials of 30 minutes at my place
>> in St. Gabriel and NOT ONE was without 1 to 5 obvious or highly suspicious
>> false positives. Since then, I've done dozens of unofficial trials with
>> the same outcome. You would think just by chance I'd have a "clean" trial
>> every so often. The most frequent local false positives are Red-eyed
>> Vireo, House Sparrow, E. Towhee, Baltimore Oriole, Y-b Chat, Am. Robin, and
>> Rock Pigeon. On the other hand, Merlin often misses Fish Crow, Y-b Cuckoo,
>> Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, and Screech Owl if they are more than couple
>> hundred yards away, and misses Brown Thrasher "Chack" calls even at close
>> range.
>>
>> Van Remsen
>>
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