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Merlin Bird ID

merlin.allaboutbirds.org

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Re: Merlin Bird ID

#201

Post by paulcapewell »

JR1427 wrote: post #102

If you haven't tried birding, try it. You'll like it. It's like collecting Pokemon, but IRL.

This is exactly the metaphor I use for this app! It's great.

I've used Merlin for years and it works great most of the time. Agree with others that it's a great example of something we should all have on the tiny computers in our pockets.

Until this thread I didn't realise it did photo ID! I took a photo of a black redstart last year and at the time was able to identify it via photos uploaded to social media. But I just tried the app and it got it straight away. It also added it as a new 'lifer' because I hadn't previously logged it via audio ID. Cool!

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#202

Post by aksss »

rigrassm wrote: post #138

I love this app! Just started using it a month or so ago to figure out who the loud ass bird in the woods behind my house was which ended up being a Tufted Titmouse (who are now one of my favorites, so awesome looking) and a Carolina Wren (not as pretty but makes up for it with its songs). For the last month, my morning routine has completely changed and instead of sitting inside. I now spend my mornings out back ref…

Welcome to your forties, where bird fascination is a right of passage! XD

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#203

Post by aksss »

gcr wrote: post #4

I'm friends with some of the researchers on the Sound ID portion of this app! The team's gone to great lengths to make sure the machine learning models and evals are solid. Under the hood, Sound ID is a great example of how "domain-expert-driven" careful research can give more reliable results than just feeding in data and hoping for the best.

Care to share any anecdotes? I can imagine some pretty interesting conversations about their work.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#204

Post by prevailrob »

Discovered this app a year ago and love it. Use it almost everytime I'm out on a walk or a bike ride. Glad to see it's getting some love here. I echo the sentiments of another commenter that said it's the shining example of what "a computer in everyone's pocket" could have been.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#205

Post by rigrassm »

aksss wrote: post #202
rigrassm wrote: post #138

I love this app! Just started using it a month or so ago to figure out who the loud ass bird in the woods behind my house was which ended up being a Tufted Titmouse (who are now one of my favorites, so awesome looking) and a Carolina Wren (not as pretty but makes up for it with its songs). For the last month, my morning routine has completely changed and instead of sitting inside. I now spend my mornings out back ref…

Welcome to your forties, where bird fascination is a right of passage! XD

I haven't got 36 yet so don't you go putting those extra years in me!

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#206

Post by ngcc_hk »

Not reading just to say it is amazing and use it every time I know I will hear bird. It is even on my bed side so I can check any unusual bird during the morning bird session.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#207

Post by adultSwim »

ggerules wrote: post #161
xpe wrote: post #150

I'm a regular user, and I highly recommend it. / Here are some things that I'm not clear on (admittedly because I haven't researched them yet): 1. Are recordings shared with Cornell? By default? 2. Is it "recommended" or "expected" that I try to get a visual id on the birds, too?

I'm also a regular user. Q1: To my knowledge for the merlin app, no. Just local storage to your phone as a WAV file. Q2: If you've started down the path of using Merlin, there is a companion app from the Cornell group called ebird. It used GPS to list birding Hotspot near your location. You can keep track of what you've seen. If you want to get extra verification on your sightings you can upload pictures and audio fi…

I also recommend Seek and iNaturalist, a similar pair of apps for many kinds of life (plants, fungi, animals, insects, etc). Seek relies on camera instead of microphone to make IDs.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#209

Post by adultSwim »

To folks in the Finger Lakes, the lab that makes the app regularly posts tech jobs on Cornell.edu, though that is likely impacted by Cornell's current hiring freeze.

Re: Merlin Bird ID

#210

Post by adultSwim »

faizshah wrote: post #156

I love this app for bird sounds. I found ChatGPT is pretty accurate for pictures of birds or plants as well.

I'll try that. I like Seek by iNaturalist for plants and mushrooms. Still looking for better performance on trees.
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