Merlin Photo App limitations (1 Viewer)

[Thegeezer9999]

Just wondering if anyone with similar issues or knows a way around this ? An example, I took a close up picture of a some Green-winged teal in Kilbogget Park, but even though the picture was clear, Merlin could not correctly identify them, and worse, you cannot manually state the bird you have seen so the only options are :-

Pick it from the Merlin Database, report sighting, upload picture to ebird via computer.
Report is an unknown bird.
Leave the bird off the list when you create and send the report in.

Neither of these seem like they will get important news of a rare bird to the rest of the bird population very quickly ?

Does anyone have an alternative to the above ?

Thank you

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Just wondering if anyone with similar issues or knows a way around this ? An example, I took a close up picture of a some Green-winged teal in Kilbogget Park, but even though the picture was clear, Merlin could not correctly identify them, and worse, you cannot manually state the bird you have seen so the only options are :-

Pick it from the Merlin Database, report sighting, upload picture to ebird via computer.
Report is an unknown bird.
Leave the bird off the list when you create and send the report in.

Neither of these seem like they will get important news of a rare bird to the rest of the bird population very quickly ?

Does anyone have an alternative to the above ?

Thank you

Merlin is only a suggestion, not a definitive ID.

What do you think based on your consultation with your field guide?

Apparently, you're using eBird. If you're confident with your ID, send in the eBird Checklist with the photo. If you're relying on eBird to get the word out to the community in near-real time, you can always upload a back-of-camera photo with your phone, and upload the final photo later.

I'm surprised that A. c. crecca is rare near Dublin, but that's another issue.

 

[Mike Crawley]

I have just put a photograph of a Green-winged Teal seen in Cheshire on Wednesday into Merlin.
It correctly identified the bird.

Sorry, I understand that doesn’t answer your question.

 

[twitcherf]

Merlin is only a suggestion, not a definitive ID.

What do you think based on your consultation with your field guide?

Apparently, you're using eBird. If you're confident with your ID, send in the eBird Checklist with the photo. If you're relying on eBird to get the word out to the community in near-real time, you can always upload a back-of-camera photo with your phone, and upload the final photo later.

I'm surprised that A. c. crecca is rare near Dublin, but that's another issue.

If it is crecca then it wouldn't be rare in Dublin, carolinensis would be

 

[Thegeezer9999]

So the bird is the same as this one I am receiving on an alert daily of rare birds for Dublin/Leinster.

Green-winged Teal (American) (Anas crecca carolinensis) (1) CONFIRMED

• Reported Jan 02, 2025 11:55 by Neil Molloy
• Swords Estuary & Broadmeadows, Dublin, Leinster

On the other matter it would appear I am using the only current way already (take pic on iphone, upload media via website on computer when back home). I understand that Merlin is only supposed to be a guide based on AI learning, but it is frustrating that it offers no “manually upload photo and provide own identification” option when it frequently fails to recognize a bird from a good, close up photo.
Thank you for the replies !!

 

[HH75]

I think the confusion here is that the birds one sees commonly in Ireland are Anas (crecca) crecca, which are presumably what you have seen at Kilbogget Park, whereas the bird at the Swords Estuary, and a few more scattered throughout the country, are vagrant Anas (crecca) carolinensis.

 

[Thegeezer9999]

Ok that makes sense. Also I missed the part about zooming in the photo till it fills the box. Started doing this and now not perfect, but identification rates a lot better.
From a couple of replies I have seen it would seem that the latin name is all important since I presume it identifies the bird more precisely ?
Thanks to all for suggestions and help.