I use Merlin with my high school students on our Nauset Regional High School campus. We have been recording point counts regularly for 3 years. In the past 6 months or so, some of the birds identified by Merlin have been odd, and not heard by me. Part of this has been the move from Chromebooks (no longer supported) to iPads (old and don't always know where we are). We also have been under construction so many sounds likely are spurious or partially obscured by the ambient noises. The species that I don't confirm by ear (and aren't recorded on my phone) are mostly Red Crossbill and American Pipit. I am suspicious that ever since the new "is this your bird" started to appear in Merlin, it doesn't seem as "tight" as it was. Just sayin' Mindy LaBranche Rochester, MA
On 4/23/2025 6:10 PM, <jrees...> wrote: > > Today (4/23), Merlin told me there was an American Pipit present as > a Tree Swallow was chattering away overhead. It thought one little > snippet of the swallow song was a pipit. > > Jeff Rees > > Auburn, MA > > *From:*<massbird-approval...> <massbird-approval...> > *On Behalf Of *Liz Pease > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 23, 2025 4:53 PM > *To:* Josh <opihi...> > *Cc:* Massbird <Massbird...> > *Subject:* Re: [MASSBIRD] Backyard Bird List (Merlin) Newbury > > Thanks for the reminder about the hummingbird feeders, Josh! Gotta > dust them off! > > Merlin (and I) are constantly tricked by the local Blue Jay that > imitates a Red-Bellied Woodpecker quite adroitly! I also have a device > called a Terra (https://www.terralistens.com/) that is basically a > receiver that streams my backyard back to me constantly. I bought it > as part of a Kickstarter years ago, and just got it about 6 months ago > (finally!). I find its ID to be quite ... sus(picious), as my kids > would say, but it is interesting. > > Liz > > Salisbury, MA > > <lizpease...> > > On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 4:49 PM Josh <opihi...> wrote: > > Hi MassBirders, > > I would not be too entirely trusting of Merlin’s reports if you > have not backed it up with your own observations of the birds it > lists, or at least listening to Merlin’s recording that it claims > are the species in question. I often run Merlin while I’m out in > our yard, and while it is right 99% of the time, and often detects > the presence of less conspicuous birds before I do, I also catch > it in mistakes often enough to keep me skeptical. In particular, > it does get fooled by mimicry (almost as often as I do myself). On > multiple occasions I’ve noticed it identifying a European > Starling’s imitation of Eastern Meadowlark for the real-deal EAME. > I’ve also caught it falling for a Blue Jay’s rendition of a > Red-shouldered Hawk. So, maybe the crossbill and swallow that > surprised you were actually lurking in your neighborhood, but > maybe not…. > > On another topic, a couple of birders in Granby (Hampshire County) > reported hummingbirds at their feeders today; time to start > brewing the sugar water! > > Good birding, > > Josh > > > Joshua S. Rose, Ph.D. > Amherst, MA > https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/opihiman > https://www.facebook.com/opihi > > Writer/compiler, Bird Observer > https://www.birdobserver.org/ > > Columnist, “Earth Matters” > https://www.gazettenet.com/search?bodysearch=earth+matters > https://www.hitchcockcenter.org/category/earth-matters/ > > Vice-president, Hampshire Bird Club > https://hampshirebirdclub.org/ > > Northeast Chapter head, Dragonfly Society of the Americas > https://www.dragonflysocietyamericas.org/northeastdsa > > > > On Apr 23, 2025, at 8:40 AM, Robert Ross <plumisl...> wrote: > > > > Here is as list of the birds recorded in my backyard this AM. I live > > in the Byfield section of Newbury. I left Merlin on from 6:30-8:30 > > this morning. A few nice surprises. > > > > American Robin > > Red-winged Blackbird > > White-breated Nuthatch > > Yellow-rumped Warbler > > Savannah Sparrow > > Palm Warbler > > American Goldfinch > > Carolina Wren > > Northern Cardinal > > White-throated Sparrow > > House Finch > > Song Sparrow > > Tufted Titmouse > > Black-capped Chickadee > > Red-bellied Woodpecker > > Blue Jay > > Dark-eyed Junco > > Chipping Sparrow > > Eastern Bluebird > > Morning Dove > > American Crow > > Brown-headed Cowbird > > Eastern Phoebe > > Canada Goose > > Red Crossbill (!) > > Northern Rough-winged Swallow (!) > > Red-breasted Nuthatch > > Fish Crow > > > > Faithfully submitted, > > > > Robert Ross > > <plumisl...> > > Byfield, MA > > > -- > > Liz Pease > > (she, her, hers) >
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