The Merlin App and Its Sound ID
The free Merlin app from The Cornell Lab is a wonderful tool for birders of all abilities. Photos, descriptions, range maps, and recordings of songs are just a few of this app’s features. Now there is an additional feature called ‘Sound ID’.
Cleon and I often sit outside on our deck and we will have the Sound ID on from time to time. It is amazing what this app can filter out – lawnmowers, traffic noise, kids yelling, dogs barking, planes overhead, windchimes. If you are watching our bird cams, you will hear birds singing and calling that are not on the screen – especially in springtime. If you have Merlin, turn your computer’s volume up. Hold your cell phone in front of and close to your computer screen so your phone’s screen is facing you. Hit ‘Sound ID’, then hit the mic icon. You should begin to see a list of birds that are singing and calling and they will be highlighted in yellow as Merlin hears them. In my opinion, this app is almost always correct in the birds it identifies. And keep in mind, the app is listening to your computer which is not the same as listening outdoors so Merlin will not pick up everything, but it will pick up most bird songs and calls and ID them. However, keep in mind – it is not always right
I listened to a Webinar from Cornell Lab and the developers of this app talked about its strengths and shortcomings and there are still a few bugs to be worked out. One is the Northern Mockingbird. The mockingbird can fool this app – the developers laughingly called this versatile singer “the bane of their existence”. All of us who have encountered mockingbirds can appreciate that – their songs are certainly varied, individual, and they can imitate just about anything!
Also, Merlin has not always identified birds that were singing right in front of me. For example, a Dickcissel was about 20 feet away from me, just singing away. Merlin never picked it up. And sometimes it will identify a bird that seems questionable. If this happens to you, I suggest you verify it yourself either by sight or sound – do not take Merlin’s word for it if you are not sure.
But I think Merlin should always be given the benefit of the doubt. Merlin identified Cedar Waxwings in our backyard in mid-July which I questioned. I had never seen or heard Cedar Waxwings in our yard or neighborhood in July. I looked at our treetops for many minutes. And finally – there they were – 3 of them! Merlin was right. Had Merlin not said they were there I never would have thought to look for them nor spent all that time craning my neck and peering through my binoculars!
Merlin is a wonderful learning tool. It really helps to have Merlin identify songs and calls first and then we can confirm them through observation. Birdsongs are not easy for either Cleon or me but we are getting better thanks to this wonderful feature on this great app. Thank you Merlin!
Happy birding!
To get this app and easy-to-read instructions for downloading and using it, go to https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org