Date: 4/17/24 5:22 pm From: Scott Gravette via groups.io <inadu4...> Subject: Re: [ALbirds] Merlin and Identification
I can't remember ever hearing a Junco sing in Alabama. Scott GravetteHartselle, AL --------------------
From: "Ken Hare" <kmhare46...> Reply-To: <ALbirds...> To: <ALbirds...> Cc: "Bob Reed" <bobreed1987...> Sent: April 17, 2024 at 7:09 PM CDT Subject: Re: [ALbirds] Merlin and Identification Reading what Douglas Hamm wrote raises the possibility that I’ve misidentified a few Pine Warblers as Juncos, and possibly vice versa. I don’t list anything from Merlin I don’t hear or see myself, so missed identifications is usually not an issue. I use Merlin to find the possible presence of a species, not as the final authority. But I just refreshed my memory by listening to the typical trill call of each bird, and I’m no longer sure I could tell them apart. In other words, I’m not only not sure I can rely on Merlin to tell them apart, I’m not sure I can continue to rely on my own ears to tell them apart. Oh, well. It’s that Philadelphia vs. Red-eyed Vireo conundrum all over again. Ken H.
On Apr 17, 2024, at 2:35â¯PM, Jim Holmes via groups.io <jfholmes...> wrote:
I ran Merlin today while birding in my yard. I also got a Song Sparrow which was not present (I have never had a Song Sparrow in my yard). One of the Louisiana birders was also complaining that Merlin was picking up Song Sparrow when his yard does not contain them. So, there must be something (bird or other regular sound) that Merlin is mistaking.
I think the bigger problem IS the “common” birds not flagged by eBird. The rarities (should) get filtered out of the public database. Although Merlin certainly increases detection of a small number of individuals, it is adding a bunch of false positives to the database (especially for species where voice is a problem). I have seen plenty of instances where Merlin was calling the same bird two different species!
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
From: <ALbirds...> <ALbirds...> On Behalf Of Damien J. Simbeck via groups.io Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 4:24 AM To: <ALbirds...>; Bob Reed <bobreed1987...> 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 app that gives false hits for Dark-eyed Juncos. On March 27 on the Gator Lake Trail Merlin picked up a Junco. I couldn't find the bird, so I didn’t record it. This was in season and would be prime Junco habitat, but I thought I should be able to see it and I couldn’t. On April 7 on the Jeff Friend Trail, I got another Junco call. I couldn't find this bird either and did not record the sighting as a result. It was also beginning to get late in the season for a Junco. Last Saturday this happened again, this time 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 would light 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. In all three cases, there were Pine Warblers in the area. Not only did I get visuals on the Pine Warblers, but the calls were coming from overhead. You would expect Junco calls to be coming from the ground or at least lower down.
So, then I got on the computer and played all the Junco calls I could find. One of them is very similar to Pine Warbler calls. In fact, All About Birds makes this exact point:
Male Dark-eyed Juncos sing an even, musical trill of 7-23 notes that lasts up to 2 seconds. It’s similar to the songs of both the Chipping Sparrow and the Pine Warbler and is loud enough to be heard from several hundred feet away.
I think I can tell the two apart now, having spent quite some time listening to recordings. The Pine Warbler seems to be a little higher pitched to me. I think Merlin sound ID is sometimes giving false Junco readings on 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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