Some other common Merlin sound mistakes around here to be alert for:
1) junco vs Chipping Sparrow; sometimes Merlin will call out both from one
song!
2) Townsend's vs Hermit vs Black-thr Gray Warblers; it often calls these
Hermit, though Hermit x Townsend's hybrid is far more common.
3) Red Crossbill vs House Finch; there's one call note that House Finches
do that sounds like a crossbill, and I've seen Merlin get fooled as well as
me.
If you're back East, Merlin often mistakes Red-eyed Vireo for the much less
common Philadelphia Vireo.
That said, I'm overjoyed that my son is now learning bird songs via
Merlin! It's a game changer.
good birding,
On Wed, Apr 3, 2024 at 7:20 PM Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
The totally bonkers out-of-range recording misidentifications can
>
sometimes occur when you have multiple bird packs downloaded and all are
>
enabled (enabling specific regional bird packs is done via the "Explore"
>
page, and carries over to the Sound ID). For example if you happen to have
>
the Palearctic bird pack downloaded and "all" bird packs enabled, Merlin
>
Sound ID can get confused and do crazy things like identifying a
>
Yellowhammer in New Mexico. To eliminate these kinds of
>
mis-identifications, it helps to narrow down the enabled bird packs to the
>
one specific to the actual region you're in. Then at least out-of-range
>
birds won't be considered by the Sound ID AI in trying to find a match.
>
>
Having said that, Merlin Bird ID is still easily confused - we had Nathan
>
Pieplow give a keynote talk at one of the Oregon Birding Association
>
membership meetings a few years back, and he explained back then that for
>
every 10,000 photos that Merlin's Photo AI gets trained on, there is a
>
single sound recording available for training the Sound ID AI. As more and
>
more correctly identified sound recordings get uploaded and verified by
>
local experts the AI will improve. But I don't think it will ever be
>
fool-proof against excellent mimics such as the Starling and the
>
Mockingbird. Cornell Labs has at various times hired folks in Costa Rica,
>
Panama and Colombia to both do recordings, as well as to go over other
>
folks' recording to verify correctness.
>
>
All best,
>
>
Nagi
>
On Apr 3, 2024 at 15:19 -0700, PENNY & DAVID KOYAMA via Tweeters <
>
tweeters at u.washington.edu>, wrote:
>
>
Ha, ha. I still laugh about the time Merlin "recorded" a Yellowhammer
>
(Eurpean bird) when birding in New Mexico, and another time last spring
>
when Barb Webster and I were at Stillwater near Carnation, WA and Merlin
>
claimed American Robin rather than the Bullock's Oriole we watched calling.
>
>
I do admire your persistence as a Merlin detective!
>
Penny Koyama, Bothell
>
>
On 04/03/2024 10:12 AM PDT Kevin Lucas via Tweeters <
>
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
Over the winter Merlin has repeatedly mistaken vocalizations by starlings
>
as being from Western Wood-Pewees. There are several places where a
>
starling does a GREAT imitation, e.g. Eschbach Nature Area, the Eagle Path
>
at the southern end of the Yakima Greenway Path in Union Gap, and at two
>
places where we lived. At the Eagle Path and Eschbach, when I've read
>
out-of-season Western Wood-Pewee heard-only reports, I've thought it likely
>
to be one of the talented Starlings I'd heard there.
>
>
In our back yard last week Merlin was fooled that a starling was a robin.
>
I was watching and listening to the starling atop the utility pole calling
>
like a robin. It sounded good enough I decided to give Merlin a go. Merlin
>
failed, said American Robin. Most times with Starlings Merlin correctly
>
indicates Starling.
>
>
During a winter raptor survey this year in the White Swan area I heard an
>
unusual vocalization. I was next to running water, so I could not hear all
>
of the quality of the song. I tried Merlin. It said Wood Thrush. I didn't
>
know what Wood Thrushes sounded like. Once home, I listened to Wood Thrush
>
vocalizations. It had not been a Wood Thrush. I worked on the Merlin
>
recorded audio using Audacity -- noise reduction, frequency notch filters,
>
and amplification. I then played back the cleaned-up audio on my computer,
>
and used Merlin on my phone to try again. This time Merlin nailed it --
>
Song Sparrow.
>
>
Yesterday I went to one of my favorite spots to look for Greater
>
White-fronted Geese. About 10 minutes after I arrived I heard a flock of
>
them heading my way. As they got closer I took some photos. Some landed
>
with the Cackling and Canada Geese, others flew over. I wondered whether
>
Merlin was good at distinguishing between Cackling and Canada Geese, but
>
wouldn't be able to test since they were mixed together there. When I heard
>
some more Greater White-fronted Geese calling as they flew toward me, I
>
pulled out my phone and gave the magic man a go. They flew low, calling,
>
right over me. Merlin fowled it up, identifying them as Cackling Geese.
>
>
Perhaps Merlin can distinguish between Cackling and Canada Geese, but I'd
>
trust him even less after his latest foul up with fowl up.
>
>
I'm looking forward to hearing my first Western Wood-Pewee of the year
>
while I'm watching it. I'm not annoyed by Merlin. I'm amazed, and sometimes
>
I find him incredible.
>
>
Good Birding,
>
https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/
>
Kevin Lucas
>
Yakima County, WA
>
>
*Qui tacet consentire videtur*
>
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>
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>
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>
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>
>
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>
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>
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
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>
>
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>
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>
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>
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>
--
Steve Hampton
Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)