Date: 3/10/26 6:44 am From: 'Rich Wolinski' via Birders <birders...> Subject: Re: [birders] Merlin Problems
Merlin has weaknesses. I've found a number of times it doesn't pick up birds close by and indicates are present though their habitat is not. Unless I can verify the bird s present with my own senses I don't count it. It's a tool under development and you would be wise to treat it as such. On Mar 10, 2026 8:52 AM, Bob Tarte <enslavedbyducks...> wrote:
Yesterday I was in Saranac, Ionia County, and ran into a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds along the river. They were singing, but when I checked Merlin to determine if I was missing any other birds in the area, it was 'deaf' to the Rusties, no matter how many times I tried. It found a Northern Cardinal and juncos. That was it. This winter, I had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at my feeder for three weeks. It was 'meowing' loudly one morning, and just for fun I tried Merlin. The bird didn't register at all. I'm wondering if Merlin has a bias against out-of-season / out-of-place birds... though the Rusties seem like they are here about when they should be. Maybe a little early. Has anyone else had this problem with Merlin? If so, what's the fix? Thanks. --Bob Tarte, Lowell, Kent County
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Messages and content distributed on Birders are the sole responsibility of the subscriber providing such content and do not reflect the views, policy or position of the Great Lakes Commission. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Birders" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to birders+<unsubscribe...> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/great-lakes.net/d/msgid/birders/<83b8f7f9-e85b-4311-868a-9ab182874414...>