Impressed by sound I’d in Merlin app (1 Viewer)

[njlarsen]

I’mI have just visited South Carolina for about 10 days, half of them birding. I use an old iPhone and have an external microphone. When I were reasonably close to the bird, the app almost invariably got it right. This was checked by either finding the bird or by listening to recordings of the same species. I love that recordings are available without leaving my own recording, I just need to scroll a little.

Obviously, this is home turf for the team developing the app, but it does give hope that the app can develop geographically.
Niels

 

[pbjosh]

It works fairly well in W/C Europe as well. Would be / will be lovely when/if it expands to cover more of the world!

 

[Geordiestew]

I’mI have just visited South Carolina for about 10 days, half of them birding. I use an old iPhone and have an external microphone. When I were reasonably close to the bird, the app almost invariably got it right. This was checked by either finding the bird or by listening to recordings of the same species. I love that recordings are available without leaving my own recording, I just need to scroll a little.

Obviously, this is home turf for the team developing the app, but it does give hope that the app can develop geographically.
Niels

Which external mic do you use?

Thanks

 

[John Cantelo]

It's easy to forget how much we bird by ear ... until you find you can no longer do so. I now have poor hearing so using the app is very good for alerting me to what birds are present in an area. For example, I was out this morning using the app when it alerted me to the presence of Whitethroat (which I couldn't hear). This encouraged me to scrutinise nearby brambles more closely than I might otherwise have done leading me to find a half-concealed Whitethroat. For me, it is now a vital tool for detecting the presence of Treecreepers, Goldcrests and Firecrests and then to put in time to actually see them (although working out from which direction the sounds coming from is still tricky). Does having a better quality external microphone help? Would a simple 'dish' attachment help with directionality? However, although the Merlin app usually seems to ID bird song accurately, it can be strangely selective in what it chooses to hear since at times, whilst it alerts me to birds I can't hear, it has ignored species vocalising that even I can still clearly detect.

 

[njlarsen]

Which external mic do you use?

Thanks

One that is out of order it seems, understandable given that I purchased this one in 2020:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GR5B3YW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Niels

 

[YuShan]

Can the Merlin app tell a Scottish Crossbill apart from a Common?

 

[BryanP]

Lately we’ve been using it almost every day here in Costa Rica. Birding by ear is a thing in this part of the world and I’d say it’s been correct between sixty to seventy percent of the time. I can’t fault the Ai or algorithm for the percentage though since the local bird species here can have their own dialect and generational “slang” that can be confusing. The usual prudent cross checking applies.
A case in point, the other day it insisted that a singing Rufus-breasted Wren was in fact a Spot-breasted Wren, not even close. The former are very common in this part of the country and the latter have never been seen here so it can get it wrong spectacularly.

On the other hand the Orange-collared Manakin and White-breasted Wood Wren share a local habitat and both have very similar buzz calls and Merlin almost always gets the Id right for those two.
I do like the interface for the most part. The subtle visual indication at what call it’s currently identifying is nice. I think it’s a perfectly usable tool that will only get better over time.

 

[Bill Atwood]

Some backyard bird watchers turned me on to Merlin. At first it was quite impressive, correctly IDing some species with just a chip call. However with more use I found it had problems. Some of our warblers' are just indecipherable to me and apparently to Merlin also. Sometimes is would just sit there refusing to ID a nearby warbler, on another occasion it gave 3 different ID's to one bird.

Merlin has also presented and issue with newbies in the US using it then reporting Old World species on eBird. Of course mistaken IDs that are not so obvious might escape corrective reviews.

 

[njlarsen]

I agree Merlin is not 100%, and that the way to use it is to get a confirmation either by seeing the bird or by comparing with past recordings to judge if Merlin got it right. The reason I am impressed is the frequency with which it gets it right is a good deal higher than I had expected.
Niels

 

[01101001]

It's easy to forget how much we bird by ear ... until you find you can no longer do so. I now have poor hearing so using the app is very good for alerting me to what birds are present in an area. For example, I was out this morning using the app when it alerted me to the presence of Whitethroat (which I couldn't hear). This encouraged me to scrutinise nearby brambles more closely than I might otherwise have done leading me to find a half-concealed Whitethroat. For me, it is now a vital tool for detecting the presence of Treecreepers, Goldcrests and Firecrests and then to put in time to actually see them (although working out from which direction the sounds coming from is still tricky).

I've read suggestions elsewhere that hearing aids really make a difference with higher-pitched calls.

However, although the Merlin app usually seems to ID bird song accurately, it can be strangely selective in what it chooses to hear since at times, whilst it alerts me to birds I can't hear, it has ignored species vocalising that even I can still clearly detect.

I guess you mostly mean Pheasants.

 

[aegithalos]

Can the Merlin app tell a Scottish Crossbill apart from a Common?

I tried this using recordings from xeno-canto, and it had trouble recognising a crossbill call ... having said that, I too like the app. My ear is not good, I have trouble with songs and calls, and Merlin has been very helpful indeed. Apart from the crossbill thing, it had trouble with calls of chaffinch v redstart, and mis-id'ed something as a warbling vireo (in NE Scotland - how did that happen?) but, as with any technology, one has to learn what works well, what works less well. I look forward to the day when it can do those crossbills!

 

[YuShan]

I tried this using recordings from xeno-canto, and it had trouble recognising a crossbill call ... having said that, I too like the app. My ear is not good, I have trouble with songs and calls, and Merlin has been very helpful indeed. Apart from the crossbill thing, it had trouble with calls of chaffinch v redstart, and mis-id'ed something as a warbling vireo (in NE Scotland - how did that happen?) but, as with any technology, one has to learn what works well, what works less well. I look forward to the day when it can do those crossbills!

I was asking this because these crossbills can only be reliably separated by sonogram, and apps like Merlin are basically sonogram analysers...

 

[KC Foggin]

Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet up with you Niels!

 

[njlarsen]

Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet up with you Niels!

Who knows if another chance comes up!
Niels

 

[Mark Lew1s]

I was asking this because these crossbills can only be reliably separated by sonogram, and apps like Merlin are basically sonogram analysers...

Well - it probably depends on how many recordings of 'Scottish Crossbill' the AI engine has access to/learned from, but I'd guess it's probably not enough. Also, we have no idea what 'Scottish Crossbill' sounds like these days (it certainly isn't what it sounded like 20 years ago), so I'm pretty comfortable with Merlin not being able to tell the difference!

 

[LittleBitOfBreadNoCheese]

Well - it probably depends on how many recordings of 'Scottish Crossbill' the AI engine has access to/learned from, but I'd guess it's probably not enough. Also, we have no idea what 'Scottish Crossbill' sounds like these days (it certainly isn't what it sounded like 20 years ago), so I'm pretty comfortable with Merlin not being able to tell the difference!

They have said they need a minimum of 100 sound recordings or 500 images for the photo id.

 

[LittleBitOfBreadNoCheese]

It's easy to forget how much we bird by ear ... until you find you can no longer do so. I now have poor hearing so using the app is very good for alerting me to what birds are present in an area. For example, I was out this morning using the app when it alerted me to the presence of Whitethroat (which I couldn't hear). This encouraged me to scrutinise nearby brambles more closely than I might otherwise have done leading me to find a half-concealed Whitethroat. For me, it is now a vital tool for detecting the presence of Treecreepers, Goldcrests and Firecrests and then to put in time to actually see them (although working out from which direction the sounds coming from is still tricky). Does having a better quality external microphone help? Would a simple 'dish' attachment help with directionality? However, although the Merlin app usually seems to ID bird song accurately, it can be strangely selective in what it chooses to hear since at times, whilst it alerts me to birds I can't hear, it has ignored species vocalising that even I can still clearly detect.

I did an online frequency test, mine started tailing off around 6.5KHz and was all gone by around 7.5KHz. The latter figure is mentioned in the RSPB book on birdsong as the starting frequency of the Treecreeper and I don't think I ever pick that out unaided. Goldcrest sometimes I can pick up if I'm lucky.

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