Date: 4/25/26 4:23 am From: Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux...> Subject: Re: [labird] MERLIN audio -- warning!
Van, Labird,A Chuck was just calling within 50 feet of me for minutes. It was loud. Real loud. Merlin missed it. Paul Conover -------- Original message --------From: "Van Remsen via groups.io" <vnremsen...> Date: 4/17/26 2:47 PM (GMT-06:00) To: <vnremsen...> Cc: <labird...> Subject: Re: [labird] MERLIN audio -- warning! One of my best Merlin yard "records":On Thu, 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> >> >> >> >> >> >>>> >>>
