Date: 3/10/26 7:24 am From: June Howard <jmhoward...> Subject: Re: [birders] Merlin Problems
Recently Dr Grant Van Horn, one of the developers of Merlin, gave a talk
for the Golden Gate Bird Alliance. I found it really interesting--he spoke
about how the app works and the choices they make (for example, what to do
with mimics)--great to learn about how much they appreciate the skilled ear
birders they work with, their plans for the future, &&. He would certainly
agree about it being a tool under development, to be used not alone but
with other observations. --They do have a recording of the talk online in
the 'speaker series' section of their site.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 9:44 AM 'Rich Wolinski' via Birders <
<birders...> wrote:
> 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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