I'm doing my best to avoid the "Sound ID" trap while birding. As I've seen recently, all (seems like all) warblers & sparrows have a call that looks like a line on the spectrogram. i.e. it lasts a very short amount of time, and encompasses the majority of the frequency range. While at Walden Ponds last weekend I had one recording (of one bird) that was "IDed" as a MGWA, COYE, YRWA, SOSP, and CCSP. I got eyes on the birds and it was a Wilson's Warbler (which, honestly, was the best possible outcome). So, yes, Merlin tries it's best, but is often faulty. Van Rudd Louisville, CO
On Tue, Sep 13, 2022 at 3:37 PM Charles Hundertmark <[email protected]> wrote: > > Unfortunately, some birders don’t realize they are getting multiple > suggestions for one bird, and instead list all of them as species on their > eBird reports. This is going to require careful scrutiny, good judgement and > delicate communication on the part of reviewers. > > Chuck Hundertmark > Lafayette, CO > > On Sep 13, 2022, at 2:58 PM, David Suddjian <[email protected]> wrote: > > This is not a Merlin gripe, but just a funny experience from this morning at > Deer Creek. > > Were I to follow the magician's lead, I had an unprecedented collection of > vireos in one spot today near Deer Creek in JeffCo. It's fun anytime you have > singing vireos in the fall, as some species do, making it easier to detect > them,... if not to view them, But to have five different species singing in > one tree in September is virtually unprecedented. Sadly, virtual was all it > was. > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S118667599 > > There WERE two Plumbeous Vireos singing near to each other, as you can hear > on the recording on the checklist. One was much closer to me, and is louder. > And there WAS a Cassin's Vireo nearby, but it was silent for Merlin during my > encounter. So that is two species. And while Merlin identified my prominent > singing PLVI correctly sometimes, but also variously as a Cassin's, a > Yellow-throated, a Red-eyed and a Black-whiskered Vireo. Hey, there's one new > state bird in there!! All those were its proposed IDs for the one singing > PLVI. Let the user beware for all rare bird reports via dear Merlin. This we > know. Personally I can relate, as I have a hard time telling the song of the > PLVI from that of the CAVI. > > At the same location last week Merlin reported a Water Rail. A Water Rail?! > > David Suddjian > Ken Caryl Valley > Littleton CO > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6Ropnyg65bszn4vEny8eva_KacJH0%2B1xkukh3gLOOAucxTA%40mail.gmail.com. > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/3C99680F-0015-4727-B238-083E76038559%40gmail.com. -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAP0P94n3%2Bc%3DrSnTx12udtHKgu6zOH%2BCrQwRwoo_wd8kTXoqJug%40mail.gmail.com.
