Date: 4/17/24 4:24 am From: Damien J. Simbeck via groups.io <tnbarredowl...> Subject: Re: [ALbirds] Merlin and Identification
If you get rare bird alerts from eBird, you probably saw the reports of Dusky-capped Flycatcher and Hawfinch. Neither burd seen by the observer, both identified by Merlin.
I ran Merlin at my house for about 30 minutes yesterday. Most of the birds detected were correct. It did peg the Purple Martin and Summer Tanager calls made by my Mockingbird (I heard them too, straight from the Mockingbird's mouth). It picked up a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (and it does that every time I use the app) that I never saw or heard. I usually only get Gnatcatchers in my yard during fall migration. It also detected a White-breasted Nuthatch that did not detected, and they are RARE in my yard (only a handful of records on 30+ years of residency). Another likely error was Song Sparrow. They are regular around my feeder each winter, but di not nest here. I haven't seen one on over a month. About a week ago, Merlin pegged a Downy Woodpecker when I coughed. I do have Downy in my yard, but it was not calling at the time Merlin picked it up.
Merlin is a good tool to help learn bird songs/calls, but eBird should really push folks to record only those birds seen/heard and identified by the observer. I know these reports of common birds doesn't really destroy the database, but it can definitely make some birds look more common than they are. And it's building a birding community that can't identify birds on their own...probably the true downside of the app.
Damien Simbeck
Killen AL
Sent from my (non-Apple) phone. You can teach an old dog new tricks!
On Tue, Apr 16, 2024 at 8:04 PM, Bob Reed<bobreed1987...> wrote: I too have recently been getting Junco IDs on Merlin in inappropriate places. In every instance Pine Warblers were present. I had not picked up on the similarity. Thanks for sharing.
Bob Reed Tallassee, Alabama
On Tue, Apr 16, 2024, 17:28 Douglas Hamm via groups.io <dhamm72...> wrote:
Even if you do have the correct location, you still have to be careful. I think there is a Pine Warbler/Dark-eyed Junco problem. Below is a ticket I submitted to Merlin on my recent observations:
I think I have discovered a flaw in the Merlin sound ID appthat gives false hits for Dark-eyed Juncos. On March 27 on the Gator Lake TrailMerlin picked up a Junco. I couldn't find the bird, so I didn’t record it. Thiswas in season and would be prime Junco habitat, but I thought I should be ableto see it and I couldn’t. On April 7 onthe Jeff Friend Trail, I got another Junco call. I couldn't find this birdeither and did not record the sighting as a result. It was also beginning toget late in the season for a Junco. Last Saturday this happened again, thistime at the Middle Grounds at Fort Morgan. But this time I noticed something.When Pine Warblers were calling, both the Pine Warbler AND Junco readings wouldlight up yellow, indicating a match. I could only hear one bird. My wife was along,and she could only hear one bird also, and it was definitely a Pine Warbler. Inall three cases, there were Pine Warblers in the area. Not only did I get visualson the Pine Warblers, but the calls were coming from overhead. You would expectJunco calls to be coming from the ground or at least lower down.
So, then I got on the computer and played all the Junco callsI could find. One of them is very similar to Pine Warbler calls. In fact, All AboutBirds makes this exact point:
Male Dark-eyed Juncos sing an even, musicaltrill of 7-23 notes that lasts up to 2 seconds. It’s similar to the songs ofboth the Chipping Sparrow and the Pine Warbler and is loud enough to be heardfrom several hundred feet away.
I think I can tell the two apart now, having spent quite sometime listening to recordings. The Pine Warbler seems to be a little higherpitched to me. I think Merlin sound ID is sometimes giving false Junco readingson Pine Warbler calls.
Anybody else have similar experiences?
Douglas Hamm
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 02:12:45 PM CDT, Jim Holmes via groups.io <jfholmes...> wrote:
This has been discussed multiple times on all the listservs that I subscribed to but as a reminder, Merlin identification (especially the Sound ID) has problems and should not be relied upon as the sole method of identification. One way to make the Merlin Sound ID more reliable is to ensure you have the location setting accurate.
This recent list highlights this point (several species would certainly not be suggested if the location setting was correct):https://ebird.org/checklist/S168927564
Thanks,
Jim
James F. Holmes, MD, MPH
Professor and Executive Vice Chair
Department of Emergency Medicine
UC Davis School of Medicine
Office (916) 734-1533
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