Is there an online bird identifier for desktop/laptop - not phone ? (1 Viewer)

[walterbyrd]

Merlin seems like an interesting app. But when I upload photos from my DSLR, to my desktop computer, it would seem absurd to then move the photos to my phone. Is there some website that will identify birds from an uploaded jpg?

 

[THE_FERN]

Merlin seems like an interesting app. But when I upload photos from my DSLR, to my desktop computer, it would seem absurd to then move the photos to my phone. Is there some website that will identify birds from an uploaded jpg?

Can try Google lens, I think

 

[Redmist]

Birdforum

 

[Richard D]

Can try Google lens, I think

I tried it and it works okay on clear unambiguous images but that's about as far as it goes. It might be useful for complete beginners, but I don't think it's sophisticated enough to separate even moderately confusing species. I do find it useful for narrowing down wild flowers, but that's possibly because my knowledge is much lower, or there's less individual variation.

 

[Steve Babbs]

INaturalist would probably work quite a lot of the time but I have to admit I haven't tried it with birds.

 

[Mono]

Don't know if you have Android or iOS but you could try this...

Use apps from your Android device on your PC

With the Phone Link app on your PC, you can open and use apps from your Android device.

support.microsoft.com

 

[Butty]

But but... if that's just (as that linked page indicates) mirroring the phone's screen to the PC's screen, it's only going to be able to interact with files/photos on the phone - which is not the OP's goal. Or maybe you can browse to the PC if PC and phone are connected by USB cable?! What fun.

 

[Mono]

It all depends on how you have your phone setup. I can browse the files on my PC from my Android phone when they are on the same network.

 

[Steve Babbs]

I tried iNaturalist - it was fine with moderately difficult ones but stumped with the greenbul that I tried.

 

[Winterdune]

Just take a phone photo of your computer screen and use Merlin?

 

[njlarsen]

Just take a phone photo of your computer screen and use Merlin?

That is what I have done, using the option within Merlin of taking a photo. As far as I know that does not lead to the photo being saved on the phone.
Niels

 

[opisska]

iNaturalist works quite well sometimes and disastrously in others. I have no idea how it is with the other apps as I have never tried them, so I can't compare. An important point with iNaturalist is that it only works with the data people gave it - and to build a reasonable ID model, it needs at least 50 photographs of a given species - thus any species with less than 50 photos (and there are many of those in less popular areas of the world) will never be suggested, no matter how "easy" the ID would be for a human.

 

[ghht492]

Birdforum

😂
😂

 

[ghht492]

Merlin seems like an interesting app. But when I upload photos from my DSLR, to my desktop computer, it would seem absurd to then move the photos to my phone. Is there some website that will identify birds from an uploaded jpg?

You can check Birdnet

 

[etudiant]

For those who aim to track birds by their calls, the Haikubox is an option:

The Haikubox Brings High-Tech Birding to the Masses

This AI-enabled device can identify the species around your home by their songs and alert you when new ones arrive.

www.wired.com

Note it needs a power plug and web connection to work, but basically a fixed site Merlin on steroids.

 

[temmie]

ofcourse there is a desktop / laptop bird identifier:

Observation.org

Observation.org wants to enable everyone to record and share observations, increasing the knowledge of nature.

observation.org

1. you make an account.
2. you click 'add'
3. you drag and drop your photo. If your photo has GPS, all the better. If not, you have to set the pointer on the map (*). If your photo has date, time, it will be read automatically.
4. Next, the photo ID will try its very best. If you have a 100% fit, you have a fairly good chance the ID is correct. You can display the less likely suggestions as well.

Below is an example for a Sanderling picture I took fairly recently. Note there isn't time / date info, so it chooses today as date, you can enter time, and I put the pointer somewhere in Russia. It's surprisingly accurate for some other species groups by the way, I think of moths in particular. And can do plants, beetles, butterflies,...
It is confined though, to Europe for birds, and to NE Europe for most other species groups. To my big surprise, it could recognize some butterfly species I recently saw in the Caribbean...


(*) most of my sightings have exact GPS through using the online app for entering in the field (iObs for apple, Obsmapp for android). The app ofcourse also has image ID, but I often have no good pictures I can make in the field (or it has to be back-of camera shots), so I do most of the ID on the desktop, manually adding pictures from my DSLR.

 

[Butty]

... and it wasn't even worried about a sanderling being in west-central Russia in December... 🤔

 

[Jon.Bryant]

That is what I have done, using the option within Merlin of taking a photo. As far as I know that does not lead to the photo being saved on the phone.

As an action stemming from another thread, I thought I would try testing Merlin with photos taken by my wife, using a mirrorless camera.

Presumably the problem with taking a pic of a pic using your phone, is that unless you do it instantly in the field the GPS info will be wrong, which I understand is used as an ID parameter in Merlin. I think this is taken from the phone, not the metadata for the photo, so you cannot alter the pic properties and simply submit.

 

[Mono]

When you use Merlin to ID photos stored on your phone, you have to manually add location and date.

 

[temmie]

... and it wasn't even worried about a sanderling being in west-central Russia in December... 🤔

It shouldn't, as long as it can rely on the ID features in the picture.

It's in this way that some major rarities have been discovered...! (besides many false claims of mega rarities by beginner birdwatchers, because they relied too much on a wrong ID... 🙃 )