Date: 6/2/25 7:32 pm From: Susan Rosine <u5b2mtdna...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Merlin and King Rail
If I believed everything Merlin ID'd, I'd have Cardinals all over the
place!
Apparently, Starlings and Mockingbirds can easily fool Merlin.
That said, it's a really useful additional tool to use. I'm sure it will
improve over time.
Susan Rosine
Brighton
On Mon, Jun 2, 2025, 7:18 PM Norm Erthal <normanerthal...> wrote:
> If you are using Merlin to identify birds by sound only without
> significant experience with the songs and calls, you are likely making
> numerous mistakes. I know of experienced birders with some amazing birds it
> identifies that are simply not there. The other morning it identified
> Plumbeous Vireo, Veery, Scarlet Tanager, and Summer Tanager within a few
> minutes. For the latter two, it was using Robin calls. It would have been a
> staggering number of new yard birds. In an Arvada park, I “tallied” Common
> Loon (a cow}, Pygmy Nuthatch {no trees within 200 feet} and Red Crossbill.
> Merlin is a great tool, but the frequency of misidentifications occurs very
> often. It has identified Prairie Dogs as Savannah Sparrow and squirrels as
> several things. A friend of mine had three first state records in his yard,
> none of which existed. The phrase “identified by Merlin” are the three
> scariest words my friends and I see on reports. If it “identifies” a rare
> bird, you need to see it.
>
> The King Rail at Chico Basin needs good recordings for me to believe it
> was there. Nathan Pieplow made recordings of what others were calling the
> King Rail and after analyzing them as a female Virginia Rail. Nathan is
> excellent at doing this. There was a King Rail that was reported at John
> Martin several years ago. He again made recordings and again it was a
> Virginia Rail. I am very skeptical of King Rail id’s without recordings
> that he has reviewed.
>
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