Bob and Charles talk about the Merlin App from Cornell Lab. It now has the ability to identify birds by sound! Please try it out and let us know what bird you want to know more about by emailing us at info@natureguys.org.
Our sources for this episode include:
- The Merlin Bird ID App by The Cornell Lab
- Gulo in Nature Blog by Charles
- The New School Montessori school in Cincinnati
I have been getting into e-bird and Merlin in the last few months. I love it and am looking forward to trying out the sound app. I have a specific bird song I’ve been trying to figure out that sounds like a squeaky swing set. I only started using Merlin in January but have found it very useful. I used it to ID a common grackle this past weekend which I had not seen near my house before.
Thanks for the feedback! It is great fun to connect to the birds nearby.
Hi Bob,
I miss Bill. So sorry for your loss. I am glad to see you have found a way to keep the podcast going.:)
I wanted to say that your recent podcast on Merlin was wonderful. I have used Merlin almost daily since it came out. It has helped me hone my listening skills to the world around me. I try to introduce others to it as well so that they can enjoy nature more.
My daughter recently commented, “Mom, We (her siblings) did not know the sounds of birds like our children do. (my grands). It is so cool that they when they are outside playing and they hear a Cardinal or a C.Wren, they identify it. My nine year old grandson was raised on a bird identifying app before Merlin. He is very sharp with his Bird Id.
I am grateful to you for making me look good in front of my grands. They always ask the most amazing questions and usually I know it because I listen to your podcasts and learn so much. If I don’t know the answer we look it up.
The world of nature is so much closer to us now because of the internet’s ability to teach and reach.
Hopefully it will make a difference for the next generation.
I plan to enter your contest. My conundrum I have a plethora of .wav files from Merlin.
My question is this. Do you know if EBird will accept a .wav file from Merlin as a confirmed bird siting. I have found that a Mockingbird can fool Merlin. Ha Ha. So I wondered just how accurate it was. I was out early one morning and had a few unusual birds IDed by Merlin.
Thank you.
Linda Shaw
South Carolina
Thanks for your wonderful email! So glad your grands know birds and that you look good in front of them! Nice to know that you got some of your knowledge from our podcasts. I miss Bill of course but I think he would be proud of the work we continue to do. Good question about EBird. We are working on an answer. Charles and I will be releasing an episode on EBird this summer and hopefully we will have an answer for you. Look forward to seeing what bird you chose for the contest. Bob
I’d never heard of Merlin before this episode, but I’ve now downloaded it and having loads of fun with it here in the UK. It seems everywhere I’ve been with it so far is dominated by the European blackbird! Looking forward to identifying some more unusual calls 🙂
Hope you find some unusual calls!
Paul, it’s great to know Merlin sound app works in the UK! Julie and I go there every year, and I was hoping to try it out. Every time we go, I think of England as the Land of the Corvids. So many blackbirds, magpies, rooks, jackdaws, etc. Happy Birding!