Hear a bird song or call you dont recognize, fire up Merlin SoundID and it will give you recommendations. From those birding wizards at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Merlin App and its integrations just keep getting much better. Available on both the App Store and Google Play, Ive lost track of how lots of times Ive advised Merlin to pals and, well, pretty much every complete stranger with field glasses I meet on the trail. During the pandemic, I ended every Zoom call with friends (and all right, strangers) with a suggestion to download Merlin and begin a significant and satisfying birding journey (even if we werent talking about birding).
In the years given that Ive been utilizing Merlin, the bird packs are constantly expanding.
When I began my Zero to Hero Birding Journey (going on seven years back now), my birding mentor Tim Boucher required that I (a) download the Merlin birding app, (b) discover to be quick with my field glasses, and (c) put time into learning to “bird by ear.”
So I dutifully downloaded the Merlin App, experimented my field glasses (to the issue of my neighbors), and hung around with the different tests and tutorials on eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithologys online birding capital, finding out to acknowledge different birds by their songs and calls. Spring migration got here and I was so prepared.
And after that I struck the woods and recognized attempting to determine a single bird amidst all the different calls and songs and weeps resembled basing on the corner of State Street in Chicago at rush hour attempting to recognize the make from an automobile by the noise of its horn in the middle of all the other horns and traffic noises. In a word, for me, hopeless. And so frustrating.
Of course, that was then, this is now. And now, the Merlin App, which opened birding for me all those years ago with the Bird ID Wizard, is when again helping me up my birding game with Sound ID. Its not quite as great as having your own personal birding coach, but its the closest thing Ive found to birding with a human expert.
It actually is like the Shazam music app for birds. Hear a bird tune or call you dont acknowledge, fire up Merlin SoundID and it will give you recommendations. Much like Shazam helps you recognize that 80s song playing in a cafe, however for cedar wax wings and ovenbirds rather of Heaven 17 or Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Ode to Merlin, Redux
From those birding wizards at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Merlin App and its integrations just keep improving. Offered on both the App Store and Google Play, Ive lost track of how numerous times Ive suggested Merlin to buddies and, well, practically every complete stranger with binoculars I meet on the path. During the pandemic, I ended every Zoom call with good friends (and fine, strangers) with a recommendation to download Merlin and start a fulfilling and significant birding journey (even if we werent speaking about birding).
Merlin SoundID, from the geniuses at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
In mix with my guidebook, Merlin, eBird and other resources, my strolls in the woods have actually become a growing number of like checking out good friends I understand by the noise of their voices. I can name most of the standard backyard birds in my Maryland area (cardinals, robins, juncos, hawks, blue jays), however the most rewarding thing for me is that I can now select new-to-me tunes and calls among the chatter, and practice learning them.
In the years since Ive been utilizing Merlin, the bird packs are continually broadening. And you still do not need to be linked to wifi and even have a cell signal to use Merlin on your phone when youve downloaded the packs that correspond to your geography. I motivate you to offer it another go if you tried Merlin once and didnt believe it was robust enough for you. There are bird packs for locations all over the world.
Merlin SoundID Test Run in Florida
The App is incredibly easy to utilize and I started explore it a number of months earlier on a trip to Florida, and was immediately pleased and thrilled.
I d stepped out with my tea and field glasses at sunrise and was disappointed to discover a cloudy, misty early morning. The light was so flat and gray it was impossible to see color, and the bird sounds were so mixed and overlapping, I was instantly carried back to my first effort to bird by ear. It was too much, too unknown and too quick. Like carrying out a language immersion in the snack bar at the UN. I definitely need the single species, one-language-at-a-time approach, and Merlin opened the window for that.
https://19mvmv3yn2qc2bdb912o1t2n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/science/files/2022/02/2021-12-27-hawk-pileated-crow.mp3A recording from north Florida featuring red-shouldered hawk, pileated woodpecker and American crow (December 2021).
I switched on Sound ID and let it run, enjoying as the App populated a list of birds Merlin suggested were out there in the mist. Then I started parsing the tunes and calls I understood (red-shouldered hawk, pileated woodpecker, American robin), and then focusing on listening for the ones I didnt. If Merlin hadnt identified it for me, I would have never ever known there was an ovenbird sweeping among the dripping branches.
I got my binoculars and made my method through the thin woods, stalking the ovenbird till I got the visual sighting to choose the sound recognition. New life lister for me!
https://19mvmv3yn2qc2bdb912o1t2n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/science/files/2022/03/cardinal-titmouse-ovenbird_01.mp3Recording of American cardinal, tufted titmouse and ovenbird in north Florida (December 2021).
Screenshot of SoundID in the Merlin App. The spectrogram is nicely integrated into the app to aid with knowing and recognition.
Among the best aspects of SoundID is the spectrogram of the recording that lets you go back and replay the songs you heard and compare with the recordings of calls filled into the app. The connection in between the visual and the audio has been exceptionally helpful for improving my birding by ear skills at a speed I wouldnt have believed possible.
SoundID Scavenger Hunt.
Most recently, I was waiting on my kid to finish baseball practice and was curious about what may be around. I held my phone out for about 30 seconds and got a fantastic surprise– cedar waxwings! Merlin stated they were there, but I could not see them.
I thought Merlin might be wrong (it takes place), but then I went over to a tree loaded with European starlings (also recognized by Merlin) and there they were: About seven cedar wax wings darting amongst the branches.
Ive been utilizing Merlin SoundID every morning on my neighborhood walks in preparation for migration and for upping my bird by ear game in time for Global Big Day (14 May 2022).
There is something soothing, and fulfilling about discovering to acknowledge and value the tunes and calls of the birds that can so typically be a confidential background soundtrack to my every day life. For me, Merlins SoundID has actually been a pandemic true blessing and a present to advise me that there is more to observation than just looking, its essential to learn to listen and recognize, too.
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