Very good point Dave. I was thinking the same. I am slightly competent with bird vocalizing id but if I uploaded a recording I would not be comfortable saying what it was unless I saw it, especially with these confusing and overlapping ones. Two years ago there was a particular junco singing in the woods above flat rock. It was the driest insect like trill you could ever imagine. I tried 5 different times before I found him and could be sure he wasn’t some rare other guy.
Thanks Sandy too. I seemed to remember from previous years that pine warbler would continue singing deep into the season Linda Orkin > On Jul 9, 2021, at 3:28 PM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > > Hi all, > I think the Library of Natural Sound used to ask, when archiving audio, > whether the bird was seen to make the call. Now, when people include audio > with eBird submissions, that question is not asked, and sometimes people are > clearly guessing, even against the advice of apps intended to help them ID > the calls. I recently checked Macaulay trying to learn more about > Black-billed Cuckoo calls. Because at many places and times the species is > not rare, I think the recordings go directly from eBird to Macaulay without > any review. Before I found any audio recordings which were verified by sight, > I found 2 examples of people labeling Chipmunk calls as cuckoos and 1 > Yellow-billed labeled as Black-billed. My confidence in Macaulay as a source > of information was shaken. > > Recently an enthusiastic young collector of rare bird reports claimed on the > basis of hearing alone that there were 2 Worm-eating Warblers singing at a > new location in Tompkins County, a county where the species is always rare > yet is regularly found in one location where it’s a lot of trouble to climb a > steep slope. Maybe that person is competent to make that judgement. Maybe > there are plenty of birders who can. I know I can’t, and clearly Merlin > can’t. I sure would appreciate people noting in their eBird reports whether > their audio contributions are of birds they also identified by sight while > the bird was recorded making the noise, or whether the bird was not seen. > > - - Dave Nutter > >> On Jul 9, 2021, at 2:11 PM, Linda Orkin <wingmagi...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Thanks Jay and Alicia. I didn’t see first reply though I was looking for it. >> Appreciate it. >> I am going to try the uploading to eBird. I didn’t know you could do that >> It’s interesting looking at the spectrogram and comparing between the >> trillers too. Although obviously not foolproof it can help you hear the >> notes in a slightly different way. >> >> Linda >>> On Jul 9, 2021, at 1:42 PM, Alicia <t...@ottcmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> Hi Linda, >>> >>> Jay replied a couple days ago - forwarded below. >>> >>> Best - >>> >>> Alicia >>> >>> >>> -------- Forwarded Message -------- >>> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Possible Worm-eating Warblers in Lansing NY >>> Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2021 12:02:10 -0400 >>> From: Jay McGowan <jw...@cornell.edu> >>> Reply-To: Jay McGowan <jw...@cornell.edu> >>> To: Linda Orkin <wingmagi...@gmail.com> >>> CC: Barbara Bauer Sadovnic <bsadov...@htva.net>, KitKat PonyBird >>> <kitkatponyb...@gmail.com>, Cayugabirds-L <Cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu> >>> >>> >>> Hi Linda, >>> Yes, clicking that will give us a record of it, but it won't be a lot to go >>> on otherwise. One thing that will help long-term would be to make a >>> recording of the bird, then upload it to an eBird checklist (doing some >>> light editing following our best practices whenever possible). This won't >>> have any immediate effect on the model of course, but longer term it will >>> provide us with more diverse examples to train on. >>> >>> Jay >>> >>> On Wed, Jul 7, 2021 at 11:34 AM Linda Orkin <wingmagi...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> Jay I wonder if you can say what we should do if we know song ID is >>>> incorrect. I got worm eating warbler for chipping sparrow down by vas’s >>>> park rink today and I clicked no match. Is that the best way to tri and >>>> alert Merlin to an incorrect choice? >>>> >>>> Linda Orkin >>>> >>>>> On Jul 6, 2021, at 10:32 AM, Jay McGowan <jw...@cornell.edu> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> This is a good reminder that the new Sound ID function in Merlin is a >>>>> great way to cue into new sounds and learn to ID birds, but should never >>>>> be taken as the final word on an identification. In this case, trilling >>>>> species like Worm-eating Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and >>>>> even Pine Warbler can be challenging for even experienced birders to >>>>> identify with confidence, and the sound ID model has trouble being sure >>>>> as well. Juncos in particular pose a challenge, with their extreme >>>>> variation between individuals. So certainly, if you're in the right >>>>> habitat, look a little harder for a bird flagged as a possible >>>>> Worm-eating, but in the cases you describe, these were almost certainly >>>>> Chipping Sparrows. >>>>> >>>>> P.S. I'd be happy to take a listen to a recording if you want to send it >>>>> privately. >>>>> >>>>> Jay >>>>> >>>>> On Sun, Jul 4, 2021 at 6:38 PM Barbara Bauer Sadovnic >>>>> <bsadov...@htva.net> wrote: >>>>>> The same thing happened to me today, also while eating breakfast on my >>>>>> porch, in Enfield! I also tried BirdNET, and got the same result, >>>>>> although that might have been a “wild guess.” When I went looking for it >>>>>> I thought I saw a chipping sparrow, but couldn’t get a good look. >>>>>> >>>>>> Later in the day the bird (I think the same bird) was closer, and was >>>>>> identified as a chipping sparrow. But I couldn’t find it. >>>>>> >>>>>> Just now I heard it again, and again Merlin thought “worm-eating >>>>>> warbler.” When I got closer Merlin changed his mind to chipping >>>>>> sparrow, and when I finally got a good look, I did see chipping sparrow, >>>>>> singing. >>>>>> >>>>>> I am really enjoying the new Merlin. >>>>>> >>>>>>> On Jul 4, 2021, at 1:15 PM, KitKat PonyBird <kitkatponyb...@gmail.com> >>>>>>> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> While enjoying breakfast on my back porch today, I heard an unfamiliar >>>>>>> bird. The new Sound ID on the Merlin app came up with Worm-eating >>>>>>> Warbler. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Merlin says this bird is rare for this area. I heard at least three of >>>>>>> the same song from different locations at nearly the same time. Still >>>>>>> hearing them around. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I did a couple of recordings, but don't know (yet) how to share them. >>>>>>> It's definitely different from the chipping sparrows I usually hear. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Wish I'd been able to get a visual. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Happy Birding >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>>>>>> Welcome and Basics >>>>>>> Rules and Information >>>>>>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>>>>>> Archives: >>>>>>> The Mail Archive >>>>>>> Surfbirds >>>>>>> BirdingOnThe.Net >>>>>>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>>>>>> -- >>>>>> -- >>>>>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>>>>> Welcome and Basics >>>>>> Rules and Information >>>>>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>>>>> Archives: >>>>>> The Mail Archive >>>>>> Surfbirds >>>>>> BirdingOnThe.Net >>>>>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Jay McGowan >>>>> Macaulay Library >>>>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >>>>> jw...@cornell.edu >>>>> -- >>>>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>>>> Welcome and Basics >>>>> Rules and Information >>>>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>>>> Archives: >>>>> The Mail Archive >>>>> Surfbirds >>>>> BirdingOnThe.Net >>>>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>>>> -- >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Jay McGowan >>> Macaulay Library >>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >>> jw...@cornell.edu >>> -- >>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>> Welcome and Basics >>> Rules and Information >>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>> Archives: >>> The Mail Archive >>> Surfbirds >>> BirdingOnThe.Net >>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>> -- >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
