Here is the info Nathan Pieplow posted on Merlin Sound ID compared to Merlin Photo ID. Merlin Photo ID has information provided by photos to ID 8000 plus species. Merlin Sound ID as of today, has information to ID 685 species by recording. This website breaks down the sound ID info by region of the world.
https://merlinvision.macaulaylibrary.org/en So the more recordings we post to eBird, the better Merlin Sound ID will become. Compare the number of photos posted to eBird to the number of recordings posted and it becomes clear why a machine learning tool cannot correctly sound ID without more sound data. Add in the fact that most of us do not use directional recording hardware to obtain higher quality recordings, but we use $600-$10,000 lens and cameras or a combination of a sophisticated phone cameras plus a magnifying scope to digi-scope our bird images. Patricia Cullen Longmont, CO On Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 1:47:37 PM UTC-6 Charles Hundertmark wrote: > Time of year comes into play here. Two things happen at the end of the > breeding season that can complicate the challenge of identifying song. > First, young males of many passerine species begin practicing song. Their > songs tend to be imperfect imitations of the mature song. Second, males > that have finished breeding are beginning to loose their song. They > sometimes continue singing, but the “purity” of the song can diminish. I > suspect that these complications can increase the difficulty of recognizing > the song for Merlin as well as for the human ear. I ran into this a few > weeks ago at Fishers Peak State Park with Plumbeous Vireos. I would > sometimes notice discrepancies in the song, and sure enough, Merlin > occasionally suggested Cassin’s Vireo among its more accurate suggestions > of Plumbeous Vireo. > > This is one reason why “Merlin ID” is not a sufficient supporting detail > for a rare or unexpected species, though it may point in the right > direction. > > Excellent that David brought this issue up. > > Chuck Hundertmark > Lafayette, CO > > On Sep 15, 2022, at 12:59 PM, David Suddjian <[email protected]> wrote: > > Now maybe I will gripe. I was back at the same spot along Deer Creek this > morning. After a little while a vireo began to sing again that sounded like > a Plumbeous. And another began right away to sing back at it. Eventually I > confirmed both as Plumbeous. I had Merlin Sound ID on again, and the first > thing it registered for the vireo song was a Semipalmated Plover! Then came > the Plumbeous ID, followed by Cassin's ID as the same nearby bird sang. A > screen shot shows these. A little later, on a different recording it ID'd > the same singing Plumbeous variously as Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, > and Plumbeous. Sigh... > > David Suddjian > Ken Caryl Valley > > Littleton, CO > > <Screenshot 2022-09-15 at 12.04.50 PM.png> > > > On Tue, 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/CAGj6RopvME9RMXP0wgsQRr1X0eLFPX1Pn70aFvx1QKARrFr%2BPQ%40mail.gmail.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6RopvME9RMXP0wgsQRr1X0eLFPX1Pn70aFvx1QKARrFr%2BPQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > -- -- 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/9ce87845-347a-43d7-9170-66dd8aa763can%40googlegroups.com.
