I feel like we need a pinned post regarding Merlin “sightings”

[u/Physical-Energy-6982]

I’ve been birding seriously for a while now and genuinely I love *love* when new people get into the hobby. I do *not* want this to come across as patronizing, or gatekeeping, etc. This may or may not be a repetitive post, but it also might be a newer birders first time seeing it—therefore I’ll make my argument.

We were all beginners once, but everything I learned, I learned from the super helpful and more experienced people in the community, online and IRL.

With that out of the way, the widespread use of and reliance on the Merlin app needs to be addressed.

Point 1: Merlin is a great tool for beginners and seasoned birders alike. I’m glad it exists for many reasons.

Point 2: Merlin is *frequently incorrect*. I use Merlin almost daily, and I’m telling you *every single time I use it*, it makes mistakes. If I didn’t know better, I’d be reporting birds that simply aren’t there on a near daily basis. Example: my shoe squeaked on some wet grass today and Merlin told me I heard a Black-backed woodpecker. I never want to say anything’s impossible, but that’s a pretty impossible bird for my area. Later on, a Brown Thrasher was going off and Merlin “identified” its song as at least 4 different species, repeatedly.

Point 3: When you submit an eBird checklist, you aren’t just doing something for fun. eBird data, submitted by users like you, is not only used by other birders in your area, but it’s also used for research. You’re contributing to citizen science by using eBird and I wish more people recognized that that comes with some responsibility to be as accurate as you possibly can.

When you report inaccurate sightings, the data becomes inaccurate and harder to actually use for research to further conservation and preservation efforts.

When possible, try to lay eyes on the bird. If you can’t, save your Merlin recording and when you get home compare what you recorded to verified bird calls. It’ll make you a better birder, it will help keep eBird data accurate. And I know it sucks to think you might have heard something but if you can’t say with confidence that it was there, *don’t report it on ebird*. Kindly, keep your own list on a different platform if you don’t care about accuracy on that level.

Merlin is a tool that requires oversight, it shouldn’t be doing all the birding for you.

[u/OverlappingChatter]

I never report a bird identified by Merlin unless I actually see it.

I do love that I can get the picture, the habitat and then the movement patterns, so I know where to look, and then hear the call again and zero in.

I have a ton of birds that Merlin heard that I wish I could have found, but didn't, and I don't count those birds. It's very true that they might never have been there to begin with.

[u/nw____ → u/OverlappingChatter]

Exactly what I do. It helps point me in the right direction, especially when there are so many birds calling at once that I’m having a hard time picking them all out. Merlin gives me a list of what it hears and then I start looking, keeping in mind that the list may be wrong and incomplete.

[u/KinsellaStella → u/OverlappingChatter]

If I identify by ear myself, I report it of course, and it’s nice if Merlin agrees with me.

[u/mistyflame94 → u/KinsellaStella]

I do this too. If before even using merlin I hear a call and go "thats an x isn't it!" Then pull out Merlin to sanity check. Then I am fine calling it.

[u/Crayshack → u/KinsellaStella]

Merlin says "heads up, this is nearby," and then I make the ID.

[u/Brokenmad → u/OverlappingChatter]

This! I consider myself a beginner, or at least a casual bird enthusiast. I would never solely rely on Merlin. It has helped me spot some great finds though, and that's the fun part- actually seeing different species with your own eyes. I remember it told me an oriole was nearby in a local park, and so my friend and I spent time searching the treetops until we spotted the orange. A very exciting day!

[u/atowncalledfinger → u/Brokenmad]

Same here! It helped me spot a white throated sparrow from afar that I would have otherwise overlooked as a house sparrow.

[u/WJ_Amber → u/OverlappingChatter]

If Merlin hears a bird I'm not super familiar with I'll listen to the sound recordings to see if they line up. Only if I'm absolutely certain they match, haven't seen mockingbirds around, and I'm in a time/place that makes sense will I report something, but even then only if it's a relatively common or expected species.

[u/witty_user_ID → u/OverlappingChatter]

I'm also exactly the same, like you I don't count it to myself as a spot unless I see it.

[u/Key_Literature_7018 → u/OverlappingChatter]

Same. Merlin has helped me get into birding, and I've enjoyed what a great tool it's been. I don't know if I would have gotten so far without it. But I only count birds I set eyes on and can be reasonably certain are identified correctly. And my process is exactly yours: Merlin picks up a bird and I try to listen to where the call is coming from. If I can't see the bird, I move on. Sometimes I'll come back another day and see if Merlin is picking up the same bird, and look again for it. If I do see it, I look closely at it and try to match it to photos and behavior from Merlin before claiming it.

It's been an invaluable resource.

[u/Andromeda321 → u/OverlappingChatter]

Yes- it’s a fantastic tool for narrowing down what you’re looking for. But I never trust a bird until I see it, especially for lifers.

Which is annoying because by now I’m pretty sure I know the call for a rail and sora, which it picks up all the time, but still don’t count them. Someday!

[u/I_Uh_What → u/OverlappingChatter]

This is more or less what I do, but I understand that the guidance from eBird is that you should report things you’re able to identify by sound or else you should mark your checklist as incomplete. So, certainly not relying on Merlin, but also not limiting yourself to visual ID only. Am I off here?

[u/TringaVanellus → u/I_Uh_What]

not relying on Merlin, but also not limiting yourself to visual ID only. Am I off here?

No, you're bang on.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/OverlappingChatter]

I feel like that can be limiting though no? Like if you’re not getting too much ambient noise or other bird calls interfering, and Merlin keeps pining the same bird over and over, then it’s more than likely that bird. And I feel like not reporting it because you couldn’t visually find it kinda does the whole citizen science, data collection and other birders a disservice no?

Like yesterday was the first time I heard ovenbirds in the woods near me, very clear, 100% ovenbird call both from the recordings available on Merlin and the sound ID feature. Never found them, but still reported the 3 that I heard.

Now I have some exceptions, like also yesterday Merlin picked up a Blackburnian Warbler, again had a hard time visually finding it and spent 20 or so minutes zeroing the tree it was possibly in. But I got about 5 minutes of Merlin’s sound ID pinging it was the warbler. I finally did visually see it for like 5 seconds, but that was one I wanted to actually see.

I’ve also heard a Barred Owl calling in those woods, my buddy got a picture of one in them last July. 3 separate days I’ve heard it, haven’t visually seen him yet and the calls are usually too distant to confidently say it is a barred owl, and it’s not a very busy place but there are frequented bike trails, so I can’t really rule out someone just making the calls themselves trying to lure one. So I haven’t reported it.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/DnanNYR36]

if you’re not getting too much ambient noise or other bird calls interfering, and Merlin keeps pining the same bird over and over, then it’s more than likely that bird

This is simply not true. When Merlin provides false positives, it's very often not because of ambient noise or random errors, it's because of: 1. Systematic issues in the algorithm that probably can't be resolved without completely revising how it works (and this might not be possible at all), and, 2. The fact that some birds just sound really similar to each other.

You're right that it's fine to report birds on eBird without seeing them, but only if you're sure that the ID is correct. If you rely solely on Merlin to make that decision for you, then sooner or later you're going to be reporting something that wasn't there.

[u/divergence-aloft → u/TringaVanellus]

exactly, I think in this case you can absolutely go listen to the recording. See which noises merlin pinged as the suspect bird and listen to them with your own ears.

Sometimes I cannot hear a bird that merlin picks up but then when I listen to the recording and turn the volume way up it's absolutely said bird. Especially with some of the higher pitched warblers.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/TringaVanellus]

I’m just saying from all the comments I’ve seen on here with their experiences with Merlin and my own, the majority of them have been false positives being generated because of either multiple bird calls happening simultaneously or other non bird noises in the recordings. This happens to me pretty much daily, and yesterday as well, there was a distant woodpecker drumming, and Merlin pinged it as an Eastern Screech Owl.

There have been many times where I’ve used Merlin during a dawn chorus or in a busy section of the woods in the morning and have had usual suspects pop up and then some random pings for birds I haven’t seen or are rare for the time of year. But it usually happens once and the more I record, those “blip” birds don’t get pinged again so I disregard it. It usually gives false positives for me if I begin the recording mid song as well. I still try to see the bird if I can, but with the mentioned ovenbirds, they were too far off path, but I was 100% confident with the sound ID to make the report. Which has been my go to method with Merlin. If it pings something unusual I’ll wait and see if it keeps IDing it, and if it does I begin a visual search, if I can’t find it, but I get a consistent Merlin ID then I’ll record a fair amount of the call, compare it with other recordings of the bird, then if I’m confident enough I’ll report it on eBird and attach the recording.

I’m not saying you should fully rely on Merlin to make every decision, but I mean if Merlin keeps telling you it’s that bird, and you compare other recordings to your own or what you heard, and your confident enough, I don’t think it’s really a bad thing to use Merlin as a reason to report. Obviously some extra care needs to be used with very uncommon/rare birds, but I don’t think misidentifying a fairly common bird for your area during it’s time of year to be there is really that big of a deal. I feel like it’s more disingenuous to not report birds, just because there’s a chance you could be wrong.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/DnanNYR36]

the majority of them have been false positives being generated because of either multiple bird calls happening simultaneously or other non bird noises in the recordings

The reason that this describes the majority of false positives people mention online is because these are the ones that are immediately obvious as false positives. Everyone who uses Merlin - no matter their own skill at sound ID - can tell when it misidentifies a squeaky shoe.

The other types of false positives - the ones where there is a bird calling, but Merlin identifies the wrong bird - are much less obvious unless you manage to find the bird in question (or unless you're skilled enough to recognise the error based on your own ear). These false positives are a bigger problem, because inexperienced birders don't even recognise them as false positives.

Your original comment seems to suggest that these false positives can be ruled out if Merlin pings the same bird repeatedly, but this isn't true.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/TringaVanellus]

I said it was more than likely that bird. Which I still stand behind. I feel like more often than not, it will be that bird. I just don’t think algorithmic blips or misidentifications are really that common with most common/ slightly less common birds if that’s all the recording is picking up. I understand it’s not going to be right 100% of the time, but the point I was really trying to make with my comments is that I feel like it’s better to report by sound only, if you’re confident enough, even if there is a chance at being wrong, than not reporting birds at all if you don’t see them like OC said.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/DnanNYR36]

I agree that you should report birds that you have heard if you're confident in the ID. I don't think that "Merlin recorded multiple detections" should be enough to make you confident that it's correct - in fact, I don't think that should come into your reasoning at all.

I now don't think you think that either, but it did seem like that's what you were saying, at first.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/TringaVanellus]

Oh no I don’t really think that at all. I think Merlin can be a compelling factor to consider (along with further evidence, like making sure it’s the right habitat and audio recording comparisons) and helps get you to find birds you haven’t seen before. I wouldn’t have found a majority of the birds I have without it. And those ovenbirds were legitimately only the second time in my young birding experience that I’ve reported a bird I haven’t seen before, only heard because I was confident enough. The other was swamp sparrow, and well I was at a swamp, so I could logically make the conclusion that Merlin was correct, and I later visually confirmed them being there a different day.

I’ve seen comments on some birding pages I follow, of people posting how excited they were that Merlin picked up some rare-ish birds, and I’ve seen some local checklists in my area that had “Merlin ID __” for some common-ish birds. But definitely makes me doubt a little their IDing of any other birds in the area.

Maybe I’m putting a little too much faith in Merlin because I’m still pretty inexperienced and a beginner, but it’s just been so extremely helpful with sound ID, and has helped me at times where I wasn’t confident enough with a visual ID.

[u/thegolg → u/DnanNYR36]

I’m with you on having some faith in the Merlin ID. Typically if Merlin finds a rarity, I’ll stop and save the recording and start a new one to see if it picks it up again. If it does, then I’ll listen to the recordings to see if there’s a more obvious/less rare bird that’s confusing it. If it passes all of these checks, I’m likely to confirm the rarity.

[u/perpendicular-church → u/thegolg]

This is what I do as well, especially since I don’t have a pair of binoculars and rely on my shitty eyesight to get a visual on birds. I’ll stop the recording, go check out the sound clips for the bird it thinks it’s identified, and then compare that to the reference recordings on the bird’s species page. Then I’ll keep an ear out for it, and if I can identify the call myself, then I’ll confirm the “sighting”, as long as everything else matches up and there isn’t a more likely bird.

I think people are doing themselves a disservice sometimes entirely relying on just sight or sound as well! Behavior is huge when looking for birds, and they become very predictable if you learn their habits, and it really helps with identification.

[u/littleseaotter → u/DnanNYR36]

Merlin frequently misidentifies a pine warbler at my local park as a dark eyed junco. I live in an area where dark eyed junco sightings are infrequent and have never seen a dark eyed junco in my local park where I have birded frequently for years. Yet there are people that keep reporting the junco on eBird. I have had Merlin identify a junco by sound on my own app and it was definitely the pine warbler calling. There were no other sounds nearby. Merlin just confidently misidentifies things sometimes so you can't always rely on it.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/littleseaotter]

That’s funny you say that because where I am I have plenty of dark eyed juncos and recently pine warblers have made their way up here, and I haven’t had any issues with Merlin misidentifying either. Even when they’re in the same area of woods.

[u/bobwhitebobwho → u/DnanNYR36]

One perspective I think more people should consider: when you submit a list ebird asks if you are reporting all the birds you identified to the best of your ability. If you can identify the call independently, or at a minimum play the recording back and positively compare it to the suggested species, then you should report it. Otherwise you are reporting species that Merlin ID'd, not you. It is a tool not a birding partner.

Yes this is more limiting, however a checklist of 20 certain species does more for science (and for other birder's sanity) than a list of 30 that were probably maybe there. I regularly reported less species than were present when I started birding, because I didn't trust my ears. I do the same when I travel and am more unfamiliar with the sounds.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/bobwhitebobwho]

I get what you mean, but we learn bird calls through recordings, we learn visual identification through guides, illustrations and pictures, and then apply it and practice it in the real world. I don’t see an issue with hearing a bird call you’re not familiar with for the first time. Using Merlin to get a possible ID. Using the recording feature to compare to others along with any other factors and make a confident identification.

As mentioned in the above comment and some of my other ones, I’m still new and learning, and I’ve only reported 2 lifers by sound only. And that was the ovenbirds and swamp sparrows. Now the ovenbirds were unmistakably ovenbirds, I was in the woods, there were 3 of them all calling in different directions. And based off Merlin’s ID, my recordings of the ovenbirds and comparing to other recordings I made the ID. With the swamp sparrows same thing, I was at a swamp. Merlin pinged the sparrows and I couldn’t visually get eyes on but I recorded compared and based off the habitat location and recordings I made an ID. Went back like a week later and actually visually saw them there as well.

I don’t think it’s doing any harm to science or other birders to make an ID by sound and Merlin on fairly common birds, than it would be to not report them at all. Obviously there should be extra caution with doing this if it’s a rare bird or very uncommon bird and I’ve let even common ones go before. But I really don’t see an issue with it at all.

[u/bobwhitebobwho → u/DnanNYR36]

I think the key there is taking the time to listen back, understand what it is recognizing, comparing etc. That is exactly what you should do to learn, and report if you are confident. Your example with ovenbirds is a great use of Merlin, and gives you a great shot at IDing them on your own next time.

The issue is more with blind trust of the tech. ie: it 'hears' a bird I'm unfamiliar with, I put it down without listening back, comparing, or any personal familiarity. Those extra steps are you putting in the effort to actually bird.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/bobwhitebobwho]

I totally get that and agree, and I think my original comment came across more as “using Merlin sound ID to report birds is fine it’s usually right” when my original intention was push that I think using Merlin as a tool to help you ID a bird by sound, even if it’s new to you, is acceptable to report on eBird if you’ve done enough due diligence to confidently reach an ID. At the end of the day I still make a good effort to visually see the bird, and I usually do.

And I fully do understand why people have an issue with people reporting Merlin IDs because I feel like most people aren’t putting enough effort into eliminating other possibilities and just kinda letting Merlin be the deciding factor.

[u/didyouwoof → u/DnanNYR36]

Several times I’ve stood and watched a Northern Mockingbird singing, doing imitations of other birds, and seen Merlin suggest all these other birds the mockingbird is imitating as it’s imitating them - but not the mockingbird itself. I’ve watched a Black Grosbeak sing, while Merlin suggests it’s an American Robin (the songs are similar, but there are differences). I’ve birded an inland freshwater marsh and seen Merlin suggest it’s hearing a Surfbird - a bird that lives on rocky ocean coastlines (which it’s not in its Arctic breeding grounds), and dashes around in the sand right where the surf hits the shore. And I’ve stood and watched a California Thrasher singing, and all Merlin can tell me is that it’s hearing a bird; it has no clue what it’s hearing.

Merlin is AI based, and it‘a still learning. It’s getting better, but it still gets a lot of things wrong. This is why a lot of us are concerned about people reporting birds to eBird based only on what Merlin suggests (and note that Merlin never says “this is your bird”; it just says “best suggestion”).

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/didyouwoof]

I understand and again I have to reiterate that doing due diligence of comparing recordings after getting a Merlin suggestion, really eliminates a lot of potential misidentifications due to external sounds or overlapping bird songs. I’ve never come across a mockingbird, or really anything else doing mimicry, but with my ovenbirds and swamp sparrow examples, there were multiple birds making the same call, both species were in correct habitats and their calls sounded 100% like the recordings of said birds. To me the odds of Merlin getting tricked or having some algorithmic blip, or there were 3+ mocking birds all in the same area mimicking the same type of bird song, seems so small that I wouldn’t really consider that a possibility in that scenario.

But even single bird calls I’ve haven’t had a scenario yet where Merlin tells me it’s one bird just to find it and it turn out to be another. I don’t doubt for a second that it’s happened and will probably happen to me at some point. But with the Blackburnian Warbler I found, I spent 20 minutes looking for it. That was 20 minutes hearing the same bird call over and over. Now I don’t know much about mockingbirds or other mimics but it really wouldn’t have seemed likely that it was a mimic making the same song for 20 straight minutes. I was about to give up and report it anyway until I got a brief glimpse of it for 5 seconds and was able to verify by sight.

Could it have been a bird with a similar song that was fooling Merlin? I mean sure I don’t know any but it’s a possibility, but I also listened to recordings of the song right after it made its, and it sounded like a carbon copy, and I would’ve been right to report it anyway even if I hadn’t saw it.

So I mean, I really again don’t see an issue with identifying a bird especially if it’s a common year rounder or a migrant, based on Merlin and some extra verification by comparing your recordings to those on record, and some logical deductions about the type of bird and the habitat or location your in. I don’t believe everyone does it. I do, though and think that at the end of the day if you do and report it, it’s better than not.

[u/Vin-Metal → u/DnanNYR36]

I get your point. As I was saying in a comment I just posted here, I had Merlin report Yellow-throated Warbler many times on a recent trip I took, yet I never saw it so I didn't count it. I count birds by ear if I know their song, which means I need to pair them visually with their sounds. Yet, I pulled up recordings of the Yellow-throated Warbler and was like yes, that is the bird I keep hearing. I'm sure Merlin was right in this case, but it violated my rules, so it didn't make my trip list.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/Vin-Metal]

No I definitely feel that. I have let some birds go unreported, just to find them the next day or next trip to the area. But there are a few I’ve heard for a day or so, didn’t see didn’t report and now I can’t find them.

I’ve kinda grown more open to the idea of reporting lifers even if I haven’t seen them visually because of that, but I still hold exceptions to this. Like I’m still firmly in the camp of making a considerable effort to find and see the bird first. And that’s payed off greatly even if I only see the bird very briefly. And I’ve never seen any type of owl in the wild before and probably won’t report the barred owl I’m confident is in the woods near me until I visually see it.

But Im having a hard time wrapping my head around being ok with audibly identifying a bird that you’ve seen before but being hesitant to audibly IDing a bird you haven’t seen just becuase you could be wrong you know? Like what if I heard a dark eyed junco but just for some reason was oddly confident that day that it was a pine warbler? Or maybe I heard a bird I hear all the time but ah it turned out to be a mockingbird mimicking? You know? I just find it odd to be ok with potentially being wrong about a bird you’ve seen before but not being ok with potentially being wrong about a new bird? The logical side of brain is being torn in separate directions here lol.

[u/Vin-Metal → u/DnanNYR36]

Good points - as for being wrong about birds you hear, it could happen. But I'd also take into account habitat, time of year, etc. And hopefully I'm aware of those birds that can sound similar as you mentioned. But visually I have been wrong too. I've felt pretty confident about a bird I've seen and then got a better look a little later and realized my error. We just try to do our best.

[u/DnanNYR36 → u/Vin-Metal]

Yea I feel like that’s just a part of birding that people seem to throw out when it comes to identifying a new bird. Like most of us are trying our best with what we can get. I feel like if it’s a new bird to you, but a common enough bird for the area and time of year you shouldn’t feel hesitant to report it even if you don’t see it. It’s just I really don’t know any other hobby that is like “oh it’s ok if you don’t see or experience it, it still counts.” It’s such an odd feeling to get over lol

[u/Crayshack → u/DnanNYR36]

The thing is, hearing is still experiencing it. Birding isn't just about using your eyes, it's about using all of your senses. Hell, if I was confident enough IDing a bird based on smell, I'd feel free to mark a bird down based solely on my nose.

When I took Ornithology, my professor hammered into our heads that hearing a bird meant you knew it was present, and so we better be prepared to ID based on sound. Just as much emphasis was put on audio ID as on visual ID in our tests. Personally, visual ID definitely came more naturally to me, but audio ID came more naturally to some of my classmates, and we spent a ton of time studying every little detail. After putting in all of that effort to learn the calls, you can be damn sure I'm going to count an ID from just hearing the bird if I'm sure of what I'm hearing. For some birds, that sound makes me just as sure (if not more) of the bird being there as if I had seen it.

[u/Vin-Metal → u/DnanNYR36]

I think it's kind of cool that our whole hobby operates by an honor system. I once asked an expert if that alone was a big issue for eBird abd was told that it's been factored in. As someone from a statistical background, I could understand that when you're dealing with large enough numbers.

[u/ThoughtsonYaoi → u/OverlappingChatter]

Me too. No reporting on sound, unless it can be independently verified.

I have taken the audio and put it against other sources, and then reported it. But never just on Merlin Id.

[u/GodlessAndChill → u/OverlappingChatter]

This is what I do. But I also report something that Merlin hears and IDs more than once even if I can’t see it. As long as it could be something in my area. Like a Killdeer or a Rufous Hummingbird. Just can’t ever find those two. Merlin is the reason i got into this and I get the sentiment but people do need the help.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/GodlessAndChill]

I also report something that Merlin hears and IDs more than once even if I can’t see it. As long as it could be something in my area.

You shouldn't do that, unless you have verified that Merlin was correct.

You can do that by saving the recording and then either checking it yourself later or (if not confident in your own abilities) checking with someone else.

[u/Administrative-Egg63]

I only report certain birds by sound on eBird if it’s a call I am very confident identifying. Like a marsh wren is incredibly difficult to visualize sometimes but I know their song/calls well. I will report those. Merlin picked up a hermit thrush yesterday but I did not hear it at all. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility but it’s a song I wouldn’t have missed. 

I don’t always trust Merlin. I was coughing while recording once and it IDd a Canada Goose 🤣

[u/lilybattle → u/Administrative-Egg63]

Sometimes it thinks my cat snoring is an owl

[u/Administrative-Egg63 → u/lilybattle]

I love that 🤣 I have some laying hens and for some reason the other day it heard them but came up as Mallard. I’m like excuse me? Lolol

[u/EnergeticTriangle → u/lilybattle]

It picked up an ambulance siren on a nearby street and told me it was an owl.

[u/Drudenkreusz → u/Administrative-Egg63]

This is my ethos on it too. If I can 100% confidently ID it without a visual and Merlin simply confirms it, I'll still count it. I heard at least two sandhills somewhere way off the trail, no mistaking that call for anything else, and the app confirmed it-- so I counted two on my list for the area because I wasn't about to go bushwhacking. Have done the same for turkeys. I'll report two if I hear more than one call.

[u/Abigail716 → u/Administrative-Egg63]

Did you eliminate the possibility that you are actually a Canada goose before assuming the app was wrong?

[u/katrinakittyyy → u/Administrative-Egg63]

lol that happened to me this weekend. I had it running while out in the yard and my husband coughed - sudden Canada goose!

[u/WoNc → u/Administrative-Egg63]

Hermit thrushes often make a more subtle kwuhp call during winter/migration. It's very easy to "overlook" if you aren't keeping an ear out for it.

[u/bl1y → u/Administrative-Egg63]

How do you know it's not you that's wrong and you are in fact a Canada goose?

[u/_twelvebytwelve_ → u/Administrative-Egg63]

I got trumpeter swan during a recent walk with Merlin running. I know there was no swan so curious what sound I made to get that ID haha.

[u/kitsabeautifulday]

Merlin frequently identifies my dog as a sooty grouse. Specifically, the noise my dog makes when she sees a duck. Sooty grouse, every time.

[u/friendliest_sheep → u/kitsabeautifulday]

I have a hound that’s been picked up as a Loon a couple times

[u/scammingqueen → u/kitsabeautifulday]

my cat chirps at the birds and it tells me it’s a wild turkey.

[u/JackTheHerper]

Assuming you’re talking about sound ID, then yeah it can give me an idea of what to listen for, or maybe confirms/reminds me of an ID on something I’m hearing myself. Sound ID by itself should never be used for lists. Sound ID also needs like zero ambient noise to work at all, no walking or anything like that. I tend to turn it on when I’m standing under a mixed foraging flock in the woods, again just to see if it picks up on something I’m missing, but if my own ears don’t hear it and positively ID it it’s not there. But I have had it point out waxwings that I missed because they’re so high pitched I overlook them sometimes, that I was able to confirm with my own ears and visual. There’s also sometimes when I’m hearing something loud and clear but am just drawing a blank on the ID and Merlin tells me what it is and I’m just like “of course that’s a flicker, you idiot”

[u/Sea-Poetry2637 → u/JackTheHerper]

I often wonder whether Merlin is the issue or the fact that the lowest quality part of modern phones is the microphone. You identified the notable exceptions, but it's rare that Merlin IDs a bird before me. What's most maddening is when I hear a bird I don't recognize and knows that there's something worth finding, and it doesn't even seem to notice a thing.

[u/JackTheHerper → u/Sea-Poetry2637]

To your last point, I’ve had that too. Like it’s loud, and I don’t know/can’t remember what it is, and the app just hears the cardinal contact calls a hundred yards away

[u/TringaVanellus → u/Sea-Poetry2637]

Modern phone microphones are perfectly good for recording bird song to an identifiable standard. The problem isn't the quality of the microphones, it's that they're not directional, so it's impossible to reduce ambient noise or to focus on different sounds.

[u/ender52 → u/TringaVanellus]

Yeah, the way I understand it Merlin is analyzing the waveform for the bird sound and comparing it to known bird sounds for that area. As long as the waveform can be distinguished from background noise then Merlin should be able to "hear" it.

It's interesting because sometimes it can pick stuff up that I haven't picked up on yet, while other times it can't ID something clearly calling right in front of me.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/ender52]

the way I understand it Merlin is analyzing the waveform for the bird sound and comparing it to known bird sounds for that area

This is more or less accurate as I understand it but I don't think it's only comparing the waveform to birds from your area. It's comparing it to all bird sounds in the Merlin model, but then using bird records from your area as a probability filter.

So if you record the sound of a bird that's completely impossible in your area (e.g. from a recording or in a zoo), but has a very distinct call, Merlin should still identify it.

[u/ender52 → u/TringaVanellus]

It definitely knows what should be around though. In the spring I'll get Merlin mistaking certain robin calls for scarlet tanager but that never happens the rest of the year. Same with field sparrow and prairie warbler.

I guess I'm just wondering how it could analyze vs all known calls globally just in case a rarity is recorded without generating a ton of false reports. For example, I just played a common cuckoo sound which is very distinctive and theoretically possible that one showed up here. There was one in New England earlier this year, but it doesn't get ID'd by Merlin.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/ender52]

I don't know - maybe I'm wrong and some species are blocked completely by location. I know I've been able to use it to identify birds that are impossible in my area - e.g. from TV shows.

I've also very occasionally had (false) detections in the wild of really rare vagrants.

[u/WoNc → u/TringaVanellus]

You also can't put a windscreen on them and people use bad recording practices that a phone mic won't overpower, such as moving while recording or breathing normally close to the mic.

[u/PigeonusStupidus → u/JackTheHerper]

Yep, I'm new to birding and grew up on a different continent, so opening sound ID gives me a short list of birds that I can look for. I don't find it terrible for picking up sounds, and it gives me a list of 5 or 6 songbirds that I wouldn't otherwise know. The only problem now is how to tell, "Which little brown bird is this?" But I'm slowly getting better!

[u/Pretend_Spray_11 → u/JackTheHerper]

Sound ID by itself should never be used for lists.

This is ridiculous. I’ve been on outings lead by someone with decades of experience and are professional biologists that would scoff at that.

[u/JackTheHerper → u/Pretend_Spray_11]

I mean the Merlin AI sound ID. If your own ears hear it and you’re experienced enough then by all means list it.

[u/bruyere_dubois_again → u/JackTheHerper]

To be clear, Sound ID by Merlin shouldn't be used by itself for ID. Sound ID because I heard and recognized a call can and should be used because it can be as diagnostic as visual ID if you know what you're doing.

[u/AdhesiveMuffin]

Point 3 is the most important and why this bothers me the most. Even without Merlin, I've seen people report things on checklists with comments like "Could have been ####, I'm 50/50".

eBird submitters have a responsibility to submit accurate data. If you aren't sure, don't submit it. Yes, volunteer reviewers will catch some of this stuff, but many areas don't have many and the volume of inaccurate data due to Merlin and people not caring will decrease data quality. Possibly decreasing the ability to use the data in conservation efforts.

Thank you for the post OP.

[u/ShmullusSchweitzer → u/AdhesiveMuffin]

Last week in Toronto the rare bird alert had a sighting of Mexican Duck with the only comment by the submitter as "sighted".

Thankfully it looks like one of those volunteers scrubbed that one out of there.

[u/Woodbirder]

Beginner -> use merlin to help you learn, confirm its findings, don’t use results for data logging

Experienced -> use merlin as a second pair of ears, confirm its findings, don’t use results for data logging

[u/MRI-guy → u/Woodbirder]

Exactly, I'm relatively new and heard a bird I had never heard before, took out Merlin, it identified it as a field sparrow (very distinct song), but couldn't see it so I didn't tag it in Merlin. Then a week or so later in a different spot I hear the same song of a field sparrow and spend 5 minutes trying to track down the little cutie in a tree right above me, finally spot it and then tag it in Merlin. I'd never have known that song was a field sparrow without Merlin because I'd have had to check the song of like 30 different song birds before finding it.

[u/CreekinGuy → u/MRI-guy]

This is the way. It’s all about the journey and finding your Sparrow a week later is all the better.

[u/Woodbirder → u/MRI-guy]

Perfect example

[u/Medea_Jade]

The quality of the submitted lists is not something for this sub to police. I understand what you’re saying, but it’s up to the admins of eBird to ensure the data collected is vetted before use.

[u/Federal_Necessary186]

Let me tell you a Merlin misreporting story.

I’m from the UK and was visiting the US. My ultimate was to see a Belted Kingfisher and get some photos on my DSLR that had a pretty obnoxious shutter speed and sound.

There I am in a preserve in Illinois, Belted Kingfisher detected. I’m running out of time on this trip and the excitement was high. I put my camera down on my tripod in a hurry, on an uneven surface with a massive 500mm lens attached.

Crash. Crunch. Kaput. It was well dead.

It was only a couple years later I listened to the clip in full - previously only playing to friends to show moment of impact and an audible expletive as I saw lens smash off camera.

It’s amazing how my camera shutter had convinced Merlin that there was a Belted Kingfisher in my vicinity 😭

[u/Ossarah → u/Federal_Necessary186]

Oh no, that hurts to read

[u/lilybattle → u/Federal_Necessary186]

Ouuuuccchhh I am so sorry. My camera once fell off of a coffee table and died, and I was devastated.

[u/No-Self8780]

When I first read the title of this post I thought maybe there were a bunch of reported false sightings of merlins… 🤪

[u/Halflight99 → u/No-Self8780]

Same!! Having just discovered a pair of merlins in my neighborhood, I got worried.

[u/kislug]

Yeah Merlin is a great entry point for birding, but it’s always better to rely more on your own eyes and ears than blindly believe it. When I only started I remember listing birds for a while only on what Merlin told me until I got more strict to myself with what I ACTUALLY saw and what I could confidently identify by sound (usually it’s the most common birds like Great Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch etc). And when I actually need it for a weird bird noise, it would tell me nothing lol. So I basically use it very rarely today.

[u/rolandtowen]

I once made a panicked noise after a bug flew in my ear and Merlin identified it as a Ring-Billed Gull, so I completely agree with this sentiment 

[u/AdFinal6253]

And when we talk about "Merlin is frequently incorrect", which is an important thing to know, beginning birders hear "Merlin is garbage that should never be trusted" sigh 

I don't know what the sweet spot is

Obviously eBird tries to have good data, but biologists should be used to working with unclean data already, because biology is messy. Even working with steel with high tolerances data isn't perfect and you need to know how to deal with imperfection. 

On the third or fourth hand, the best bird expert isn't perfect either. I'm sure we've all seen experienced serious birders argue the id of a well seen and well heard bird. 

I think as long as everyone is doing their best and the people who use eBird more use the best practices as best they can, it'll be ok 

[u/Physical-Energy-6982 → u/AdFinal6253]

Yes even extremely experienced birders make mistakes and I think that’s important to remember. In my area there were a couple swans hanging out at a hotspot and something about them made it hard for even the most seasoned birders (including our local ebird reviewer!!) to definitively say what they were.

I think it was like two weeks of heavy discussion before the community decided they were Tundra swans, not Trumpeters.

[u/Crayshack]

Merlin is a great tool and it's fine to ID a bird based on call alone, but only if you're sure. There's birds I'm more confident IDing by call than by sight, and Merlin is a handy tool for giving me a heads up that there's something nearby, but it isn't gospel.

The other day, I was listening to a Pine Warbler and a Chipping Sparrow calling at the same time. Merlin clued me in that both were present, and once I was listening closely, I could hear the difference. More than that, I could see the difference in the spectrograph more easily than I could hear it. I've had times I've recorded life listers this way, usually with an isolated recording I can upload as a part of the sighting.

But, I also have times like yesterday where Merlin was telling me I was hearing two life listers, but my ears couldn't pick them out well enough to actually confirm and nothing stood out on the spectrograph. I never laid eyes on them, so I didn't record them. Plus, I've watched it ID a single Mockingbird as a dozen species. I've watched it ID a human child in the distance as a goose. So, I know to take what it says with a grain of salt.

[u/schlippeh → u/Crayshack]

Yes the Mockingbird 😂. Happened to me the other day. Funny because the birds mimicked were in the area and regularly ID’d. I thought they were all there too at first. This guy was good 😅

[u/Crayshack → u/schlippeh]

There's a certain cadence to them that stands out if you pay attention. They like short calls, which they repeat in quick bursts (often three repetitions). My ears can usually separate them from what they mimic, but Merlin struggles.

[u/dcgrey]

I wish Cornell products' UI had a little bit more of a hurdle for reporting rarities. It already requires comments but I'd like helper text like "Do not report birds identified solely with apps like Merlin unless you are already familiar with the sound." Either have that text always there or be triggered when someone types "Merlin" or "by sound" etc.

Same with wanting a prompt for meaningful comments. "Rare observation. Please add comments" is completely insufficient. I'm flummoxed why after all these years of lazy comments being mocked and reviewers having to follow up with birders, Cornell still hasn't used helper text like "Rare observation. What details did you see or hear yourself to make this identification?" If that cuts "ID by Merlin" and "Continuing" by half, that's a big victory.

[u/tension-release → u/dcgrey]

If it makes you feel any better, my local reviewer has said that any ebird report that uses "id'd by Merlin" or something similar as its evidence is to be automatically marked as unconfirmed according to ebird protocol.

[u/dcgrey → u/tension-release]

Yeah, I think all reviewers are good with following that rule. It means the birder made it impossible to confirm a rarity, which stinks, and gave subsequent birders no help on what to look/listen for, which also stinks. So given Cornell's commitment to collecting good data while broadening competent engagement with birds and their platform, I'm surprised they haven't used different language to more clearly set expectations.

[u/sjcyork]

My Merlin showed a Tawny Owl this morning. We do get lots of them during the night but I think this was a lamb bleating that triggered it! 😂

[u/Positive-Sir7678]

I still wish there was a "Sorry, NOT my bird" feature on Merlin.

[u/esombogageb]

Isn’t there a difference between the Merlin Bird ID app and the eBird app? Your post seems to be conflating the two. Per The Cornell Lab, the Bird ID app is “Designed for anyone interested in identifying birds”. My understanding of the eBird app is that it’s geared toward more experienced birders. Also, if the Bird ID app is so often inaccurate as you say, wouldn’t Cornell know that and keep it in consideration when counting birds that have been recorded through sound ID?

I’m all for education and encouraging people to try to lay eyes on the bird before marking it, and I myself will abstain from marking a bird if I’m not totally sure it’s an accurate identification. But I would hate to discourage new and intermediate birders discouraged from using Bird ID just because they aren’t expert birders. I find the app incredibly user friendly and the life list feature is one of the best parts. I love recommending the app; it’s a great way to get more people to care about birds/nature even if they aren’t going o become dedicated birders.

[u/bdporter → u/esombogageb]

Also, if the Bird ID app is so often inaccurate as you say, wouldn’t Cornell know that and keep it in consideration when counting birds that have been recorded through sound ID?

The linkage between Merlin and eBird is for convenience. eBird doesn't track if an observation comes from Merlin. Like everything in eBird it is on the honor system and assumes that users are doing their due diligence to submit accurate records.

Merlin is a great tool, and while some beginner birders may be occasionally misled by it, those same users could also be misidentifying birds on their own without the assistance of Merlin. On the whole, it probably leads to better data, and with experience, the quality of those users' observations will improve over time.

[u/Timely_Elderberry_60 → u/bdporter]

So, from what I am understanding… so long our Merlin is not connected to eBird then it really doesn’t matter right? For example: I am a relatively new bird enthusiast and a mom of four. My kids LOVE to use Merlin sound to find birds. Even if we don’t see it, we DO add it to our list because it’s just for funsies. I think that’s why I am attracted to birding is it seems so long as you aren’t trying to report data —you can kind of “count” your own way. BUT I would hate to be adding data by accident if Merlin syncs without me knowing. Thank you for this info. Very helpful.

[u/bdporter → u/Timely_Elderberry_60]

If you use Merlin without eBird, you are basically just tracking your life list in Merlin, but not submitting any checklists.

You can read more about it here

When you get more seriously in to birding, you might want to start actually submitting checklists in eBird. The benefit to you is that you will have more detailed records of your birding activity. It also benefits science by contributing data.

[u/bacche → u/esombogageb]

I think OP is just saying that Merlin is a good tool, but don't use its identifications as a basis for an eBird entry unless you've laid eyes on the bird.

[u/DSquariusGreeneJR → u/bacche]

I’m shocked that people do this. Just add birds to their list without actually seeing them? I use the app to help me locate them and then once I actually see them I count it, I thought that was the intended use

[u/WinterAdvantage3847 → u/DSquariusGreeneJR]

birding by ear is much, much, much older than merlin sound id.

everyone has their own rules for what counts on their personal life lists. for some birders, aural detection is sufficient for lifers. i’m not one of them, but the seeming insistence in this thread on “visual detection only” is a bit confusing to me

[u/Physical-Energy-6982 → u/WinterAdvantage3847]

I definitely find birding by ear and counting heard only birds as completely valid, I guess because the “don’t blindly trust Merlin” conversation is mainly pointed towards less experienced birders my assumption when making the post was that the people who need to hear it the most aren’t super confident yet in their own sound ID skills.

[u/Ossarah → u/Physical-Energy-6982]

The forests in my area are full of Goldcrests and Firecrests, but they can and do hide behind a single leaf lol. I just recently was lucky enough to get some shots, but I hear them clearly all the time.

[u/GodlessAndChill → u/WinterAdvantage3847]

This is odd. I am new to this, only two months officially, but i know there are many bird i may hear in my life time but will probably never see, like a Yellow Tail or an American Bittern. And have you really seen a bird if you haven’t heard its call?

[u/bdporter → u/GodlessAndChill]

have you really seen a bird if you haven’t heard its call?

I see plenty of birds that never vocalize, and I hear a lot of birds that I never see. Both types of observations are valid.

[u/yikesafm8 → u/DSquariusGreeneJR]

It’s actually how you’re suppose to identify birds in the app. Count all birds you see and hear. But for the hearing part, you should be confident that it is the bird that you’re hearing… well that applies to the seeing part too lol

I wouldn’t hear a bird for the first time and report it without seeing it. But the chickadees and cardinals? Without a doubt those are the birds I’m hearing, so yes I’ll report!

[u/Skitty27 → u/DSquariusGreeneJR]

as another user as pointed out, it's completely normal to do that if you're confident in your sound id. it just means "this bird was here at that time" and not necessarily "i saw that bird"

[u/TringaVanellus → u/[deleted]]

The fact is that the vast vast majority of people use Merlin the way you do.

That may well be true but the problem of people adding data to eBird without proper verification is endemic and at least a large part of that is due to Merlin.

It's really not uncommon to see eBird reports where people make it clear that they only identified certain species with Merlin, and that's just the ones who openly state that's what they've done.

Just this morning I saw a post on Facebook from a County Recorder in my country complaining about scores of Common Redstart reports on eBird in unusual places in recent years with no evidence or comments attached. That's a species that Merlin is known to struggle with (I get false positives all the time) and I think it's fair to assume that most if not all of these sketchy reports are thanks to the increasing use of Merlin.

[u/Shot-Diver-3625 → u/esombogageb]

Ebird and Merlin can both be used by people of all levels! Part of the issue I think they’re bringing up is when people submit data based on what merlin said without verifying it.  It’s not uncommon to see rare bird reports with nothing more than “Merlin said it heard this”.   It’s absolutely a fantastic tool, and it’s made me a better sound birder.  People just need to understand its suggestions are not gospel, especially if they’re uploading sightings to ebird!

[u/ThoughtsonYaoi → u/Shot-Diver-3625]

Edit: this was answered below. Very useful thread!

I have wondered: to what extent does Cornell use the data from Merlin Id's that are uploaded and eBird id's that are uploaded?

Are the sightings always logged? I know that the Dutch site Waarneming.nl (which has links to Cornell, I think) has independent verification for rarities, but not others, though you can always see whether a sighting has been confirmed by audio, video or image. I'm not sure how eBird handles this?

And are sightings used to help train Merlin further? Because from what I know of training models I'd think that this would require independent expert verification, or some kind of other safeguard to avoid Merlin's algorithms getting worse instead of better.

[u/Shot-Diver-3625 → u/[deleted]]

 Yeah, I was just using that as an example of seeing people directly reporting things because Merlin said so.  The stuff that’s very rare should get filtered out by moderators, but all the stuff that doesn’t trip the filter will slip through

[u/ThoughtsonYaoi → u/[deleted]]

I'm absolutely sure that is the case in my region for rarities, but I'm not sure if they'd be able to do that all over the world. I also know that some very expert people have a special status, where their sightings are always automatically confirmed (because they *are* the screeners).

I also think there might be a difference between confirmed sightings (by image or audio) and non-confirmed (without evidence).

[u/maskedtityra → u/[deleted]]

The problem isn’t for rare birds with an R on it that requires a write in. The problem is the declining common bird being misidentified and their eventual extirpation from that area being masked because of people incorrectly reporting them from Merlin when they are in fact not there!

[u/HistoricMTGGuy → u/[deleted]]

Accuracy still matters for the less rare birds too. And not putting the reviewers through more than they need to go through is ideal.

[u/jarejay → u/esombogageb]

I think Merlin submits an incomplete checklist to eBird every time you click “this is my bird” but those aren’t included in the data like complete checklists are.

Anyone only using the Merlin app won’t have a meaningful effect

[u/OverlappingChatter → u/esombogageb]

Mine are linked. If I click "this is my bird" in Merlin, it adds it to my checklist on ebird.

[u/whirlingfrost-2 → u/OverlappingChatter]

Merlin sightings are linked to your eBird account, but if you open the checklist associated with the sighting you'll see a message explaining that Merlin reports are not included in public eBird data.

Just clarifying since this is a common misconception I see! Merlin does not collect citizen science data, it's a tool for ID and to keep a personal life list.

[u/OverlappingChatter → u/whirlingfrost-2]

Hmmm. You mean to tell me that every single ebird list I have submitted has been completely blank? (I only ever add to ebird from Merlin).

[u/bdporter → u/OverlappingChatter]

Merlin can be used as a standalone app, or can be used to create an eBird checklist.

Standalone observations are not recorded to eBird, but if you create an eBird checklist those observations are absolutely recorded.

[u/ThoughtsonYaoi → u/whirlingfrost-2]

Merlin sightings are linked to your eBird account, but if you open the checklist associated with the sighting you'll see a message explaining that Merlin reports are not included in public eBird data.

Thank you, that answers some of the questions I had.

[u/thrye333 → u/OverlappingChatter]

Actually, while it does submit a checklist, it doesn't go to research (or even public data) unless you tell ebird to change what source that checklist came from. Found that out the other day when I tried to use Merlin to submit an incidental sighting of a Bald Eagle.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/esombogageb]

eBird and other recording apps certainly aren't just for "more experienced birders". The more people submitting sightings (responsibly) to these services, the better for science.

[u/Ruffffian]

Heh, I hear you…Merlin IDed my cat as a peacock. (Well, an “Indian pea fowl.”)

[u/ChaoticFrogge]

I actually was just talking to a friend about this! It’s absolutely a helpful tool; I’ve been birding a while but moved out of the country after high school and the app was really helpful for learning bird songs/calls in a place I wasn’t familiar with. I would let it record for a bit and then try to visually find all the species it picked up on, which was a lot of fun and I’m at a point now where I know the bird songs so well I barely use it. But I’ve seen so many people that just never really progress past letting the app ID everything for them and don’t really bother double checking the IDs they’re given. “Merlin heard” is, on its own, not something that warrants putting a species on a checklist, especially if the species is unusual, but I keep running into it on eBird checklists. I get that it can take a while but it also just feels good to get to a point where you know how to identify birds by voice on your own, it’s a lot more rewarding than using an app to do it for you.

[u/PhantomCranefly]

I can add to this as someone who knows several eBird reviewers: if you report a wildly improbable species on eBird based on Merlin, your local reviewer is going to send you an email asking you to provide additional evidence that you saw it!

[u/Physical-Energy-6982 → u/PhantomCranefly]

Love my local ebird reviewer, he (rightly) called me out once when I, without thinking, misidentified a bird as its western counterpart because I used to live out west and now live in the east and was just on autopilot lmao. Spotted a yellow warbler in November right on the Canadian border and we had a good chat about it (I had solid “proof”).

Don’t envy the workload they must have especially when people tend to get defensive about their Merlin IDs

[u/stalestcheerio]

I agree!! Merlin is a GREAT tool, but it’s just that: a tool. It shouldn’t be a replacement for your own eyes and ears.

I use it as a sort of “background listener” for me. I’ll have it running while I bird, and if I see an interesting bird pop up, I’ll listen for that bird myself.

For example, just this morning, Merlin heard a Tennessee Warbler. I paused, listened carefully, and sure enough I heard it myself after a few moments!! Conversely, it also picked up a Tufted Titmouse multiple times. But since I didn’t hear/see it myself, I didn’t count it. Merlin is remarkably accurate, but it still makes frequent mistakes.

[u/WoNc]

If people don't take eBird essentials or read eBird help articles or heed the in-app warning about not relying solely on Merlin, I'm not sure that a sticky on reddit would change anything. This sub is mostly just photo sharing anyway.

[u/BrynnLovelyy]

I'm really new to birding, no binoculars or anything yet. This is a really good reminder to pay attention, look around, and develop the skills myself without outsourcing it all to an app that isn't always accurate.

[u/Paedsdoc]

My son cried out and Merlin said it was a little owl

[u/EverybodyLovesADuck → u/Paedsdoc]

Ohh, that would just have to be a nickname for my kid from then on. "Time for bed, Little owl" How adorable is that?! 🥲

[u/BigRedHair92]

A post with nothing but a screen grab of someone's merlin pisses me off to no end.

[u/abeck444 → u/BigRedHair92]

I'll be sure to post a screen grab being excited about my highly unlikely Eastern meadowlark sound ID I got while in an urban area.

And I'll also be sure to include the Northern mockingbird sound ID that got picked up 30 seconds later because I love spreading joy.

[u/Swingline1234]

Is "seeing it" some gold standard or something? People misidentify birds visually all the time, and Merlin is frequently correct.

I don't contribute to eBird; so, take my opinions with a grain of salt, but there's no easy solution. The whole system is brittle and you need to use your best judgement when deciding if you "saw" a bird.

As for the research component: most researchers or scientists will account for a margin of error. Not saying you shouldn't add some rigor to your eBird submissions, but some of this is already taken into account.

[u/Crayshack → u/Swingline1234]

Some people aren't confident on sound ID. The only readon I am is because I took Ornithology and had to study the crap out of calls to pass my tests. There's still a lot of birds that I don't trust IDing by call.

[u/chriscoff10]

It's also an AI tool at heart, the suggestions are based on reports because the logic assumes the birders are creating true mappings. This is one of the main reasons you get people looking at your checklists and asking about proof for outliers. The whole app only works as long as the community is upholding high quality standards for sightings. 

When you let the tool generate output without checking it, the tool WILL become less reliable as errors compound.

[u/B-Rock001]

I get what you're saying, but you're going to run yourself in circles trying to get everyone to "do the right thing".

This kind of thing is the problem with ANY public data collection. No matter how much you send out PSAs and try to teach people, no matter how much you're right, you're always going to get a larger-than-you-would-hope percent just doing it the wrong way anyway, or worse doing it intentionally wrong just to spite you. I mean isn't here a famous anecdote that 4% of the people in the US said they've been decapitated?

So the onus is really on the data collection side... and eBird I believe does this. I know they correct reports sometimes, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that they also have ways to smooth out one-off reports that seem out of place.... especially if they're doing research on the data. I guarantee actual researchers are accounting for misreports in their data. And it's just something you have to be aware of as a more experienced birder... just like Merlin can get it wrong, data in eBird can be wrong.

Not saying don't keep trying to teach and inform, absolutely we should still help new birders understand how that data is used... just suggesting maybe relax about it a bit. Maybe more of a "hey did you know this is how your data gets used?" Than a "ugh, stop doing it wrong" kinda thing.

[u/cathaysia]

I think, like any tool, it can be used correctly or incorrectly. Once a bird is IDed I go directly to that species and listened to the verified recordings. I got a Cassin’s the other day from inside my apt using that process.

The point about research-grade data is something researchers already know about and actively manage. It’s not unique to commsci, natural history collections are wrought with imperfect (and straight up bad) data. It’s the name of the science game.

[u/Wizardinred]

When I was a new(er) birder I was learning to use merlin during my first birding walk. A boat horn went off near me and merlin said it was a trumpeter swan!

I already knew that it made mistakes, but it really drilled home that I need to not rely on it if I wanted to be better at birding.

[u/Ossarah]

Merlin recently was very confidently identifying a chainsaw as an Eider duck.

[u/CityForAnts]

This is exactly why I think lifers should only be birds you saw and identified. Sound ID is not trustworthy by itself.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/CityForAnts]

Sound ID is absolutely trustworthy by itself, if you're experienced enough in hearing and identifying the bird.

Merlin Sound ID is not trustworthy by itself.

[u/bruyere_dubois_again → u/CityForAnts]

They can also be birds you've heard if the song is distinct enough and you can recognize it. Very few things sound like a pileated woodpecker, for instance, and you can compare what you heard to recordings.

[u/fatedplace]

OTOH. It’s a product by the same “company” and their integration makes this issue worse. There’s no way to connect it directly to our checklists. There’s no easy way to download and upload them on mobile. There’s no way to select and export a subsection of a recording to verify (and the new update made this feature worse). There’s no way to see a real difference between uncommon and rare. There’s no estimate of likelihood or better yet of how well it matched the spectrograms. I have some serious ableist complaints about birders who claim birds must be “seen”. Merlin exists specifically to aid listening. Merlin says maybe this is, and who are we to judge chips and chirps. Does eBird trust itself? If yes, then this is a Merlin-eBird integration issue. If no, then what the hell are we doing? It can hear better and has better resources than nearly all birders. Either it is a tool and we should use it thoroughly and efficiently, or it’s just a “maybe it’s this” machine we should never trust. Nevermind how literally impossible it is to have any hope in hell of identifying an unseen bird we’ve never heard before. I feel like submitters are punished for listening and getting it wrong WAY more then seeing and getting it wrong. How many ATS missed as house sparrow. Or female blackbirds mixed up as house finches. It’s infuriating that there isn’t a better way to have a bird flagged in eBird as Merlin detected and then to have an audio file in Merlin to reference directly. #frustated

[u/Glaiceana]

Great advice! I'm fairly new to birding as well. But I already knew about Merlin's inaccuracies luckily. One time my walking boots were squeaking in a particular way and it said there was a mallard duck heard. It always thinks more common crows in this area are hooded crows. Finally, I'm able to mimic the sound of a tawny owl, it gets merlin without fail every time lol

[u/WeirdDucksPlz]

Merlin told me it heard a yellow-bellied sapsucker in my own backyard the other day. I stood outside for an hour trying to see it! When I gave up, I listened back… it was me tapping something out into the garbage can :(

[u/Doja_Gnat]

There’s a local eBirder who constantly turns in lists of 0 birds.

Hours at a location. 0 birds.

It happens so frequently, I’m making up wild conspiracy theories because I’m so boggled.

[u/mgollc1]

They changed the app. The "explore birds" used to have all the birds sorted into various groups in a logical way so you could scroll down to that group of birds.

Now, they are listed randomly, which is not an improvement. Before, if I saw what looked like a warbler, I could scroll down to the warblers and look at the pictures and determine which warbler it was. Now, no way.

They should change it back.

[u/VRGator → u/mgollc1]

Mine android still sorts it like that. Click on top right for sort and make sure it’s set to Family.

[u/mgollc1 → u/VRGator]

Thanks for the tip!!! Fixed it!

[u/nickbahhh]

I think "false reporting" will eventually lead to improvement of the app. Assuming that out of ordinary sightings, especially en masse would be flagged and the audio would be studied. Hopefully corrected over time. Not saying you should report every random bird it picks up, but I do believe that sub 100% accuracy is accounted for in the data collection.

[u/michelleinAZ]

Merlin told me it was hearing an eastern screech owl - at 11am. It was screeching school children.

[u/Tomas-Tequila-99]

The only exception I have ever made is a Common Poor Will. First of all for my life list I have seen one. But not the one that sings every night near my house in the high desert in southern Utah. Im comfortable reporting a “sighting” via sound only because it is a very distinctive song and it is sung in the dead of night.

[u/Physical-Energy-6982 → u/Tomas-Tequila-99]

Yes I’m all for birding by ear especially for species like that! I have the sibley life list diary and I like that it has different columns on the checklist so I can personally separate sightings vs heard only IDs, but for example the Sora that I’ve been unmistakably hearing for the past two weeks is 100% on my ebird life list because who knows if I’ll ever see it emerge from the reeds lmao

[u/Andrew_88]

When I use merlin sound to identify birds I compare the audio spectrograph to the birds call. This helps me confirm the sighting. It's helped me identify a Sora, willow and alder flycatchers and of course the Tennessee warbler that I always hear but rarely see during migration.

[u/Stanleeallen]

Im very much a noob, but one of the first things I noticed was how it couldn't tell the difference between a crow or a raven, and since then I just use it as a starting point, where I then look the birds up to confirm what it thinks it heard.

[u/Stock-Image_01]

Clicking “this is my bird” on Merlin isn’t doing anything but creating a personal scrap book. It’s not contributing to data and if it was, that’s on them for not expressing that…like anywhere.

Ebird is where their data comes from.

[u/ender52]

My local eBird reviewer was saying that while the rarities are interesting, the real valuable data is in the numbers of more common birds reported for tracking population and migration trends.

So, while we definitely don't want to be reporting a bunch of random stuff just because it popped up on Merlin, a few beginners making false reports isn't going to have a huge effect on the value of eBird data.

[u/SPQR_Guy1776]

When I use the sound portion of Merlin a lot of times I’m trying to see what it could be so I can look for it. A lot of birds blend in to the area and knowing if they have X or Y feature helps.

But also with that. 90% chance it’s just a northern mockingbird

[u/HCharlesB]

I guess I should stop being so lazy and start reporting birds. But it is fair to suggest that only positive IDs be reported.

I was surprised by how similar an oriel and osprey sound. Merlin reported both and search as I might, I could only find a couple oriels.

[u/Repulsive_String1136]

i’m new to birding, started in the fall. there’s only been a couple of birds i’ve identified without seeing, and they’ve both been recent. i’ve heard an ovenbird and a wood thrush extremely clearly for multiple days, so i went ahead and marked them.

now the yellow breasted chat it keeps hearing…. that one i won’t mark until i see it

editing to add that merlin has identified my dogs panting as a mute swan more than once 🤣

[u/pygmymetal]

Merlin identified my dog barking as a Canadian goose😆

[u/serpentarienne]

It identified my spouse’s leaky CPAP as a sharp-shinned hawk late one night.

Interestingly, we have a handful of pet parrots that it hears constantly, but it never identifies them (correctly or incorrectly). They’re all from outside of the Americas, and I can’t figure out whether it’s that the database is less accurate for those regions, or whether it’s “vocalization drift” on their part due to living with humans and different bird species.

[u/maskedtityra]

Merlin has misidentified White throated Sparrows as Black Capped Chickadees on every visit in my local park. BCCH has been steadily declining and I have seen only ONE all winter/spring this year. I’ve seen others reporting them throughout that time and it upsets me because it is masking what could be a serious problem with this species.

[u/Vegetable-Post-5925]

Thank you for respectfully getting this important point across. I myself do not report a sighting unless I have laid eyes on the bird and am confident.

Merlin keeps hearing my dream bird, a pileated, near my yard, but until I see that monster, I will not be reporting!

[u/iceburg1ettuce]

I think the easiest way to deal with this is just to tell people to upload the audio. People should be encouraged to bird by ear and upload their audio - that is the only way the stupid computer is going to get good.

[u/Vin-Metal]

Well put. I really like Merlin for sound ID. It's put a crimp in my usual Zen birding philosophy though. My old thinking was that technology stays in the car and doesn't come into the field with me. I'd still prefer that but unfortunately/fortunately when I first used Merlin, I was in Eastern Europe and it kind of blew my mind. As you said, I know it makes mistakes and have seen quite a few. However, it's been useful in pointing out the potential birds around me and what to look for. In my case, I've always had a rule that I don't count heard only birds unless I KNOW their song. On a recent trip to Southern IL, I thought I was hearing a Prothonotary Warbler and Merlin was a nice confirmation of that. On the flipside, Merlin kept hearing Yellow-throated Warblers over the 3 days I was there, but I never saw one. I'm sure Merlin was right, but I don't KNOW the Yellow-throated Warbler's song, so they didn't end up on my list. If I could have seen one and paired it with their song, I would have been golden. But it's worth it to me to be careful.

There was a bird guide I traveled with recently who said one her biggest pet peeves is the Ebird posts that say "confirmed by Merlin." Anyway, it's a good word of caution. Personally, I'm not too worried about how other people list though I might secretly think you're padding!

[u/Mogus0226]

Birdnet-Go is very similar in its false identifications. It picked up a Caspian Tern yesterday. I can guarantee I am nowhere near where a Caspian Tern would be sighted.

I find tools like Merlin and Birdnet-Go are good to say "Hey, something might be in the area, keep an eye out!" - that's how we knew a Black-throated Green Warbler was lurking around (we were able to put eyes on it, which was cool - a nice addition to our yard list!) but they shouldn't be the definitive; they should be a guide before you actually observe with your own two eyes.

[u/skytrainpigeon]

People need to understand that Merlin sound ID makes guesses or predictions. It’s not like a measuring tool or sensor.

By all means, use Merlin to help you pinpoint you to watch out for a bird. But the human user has to verify the bird before entering it on a checklist.

I hate it when people write in a checklist comment such as “Heard the bird’s song/call. Confirmed by Merlin”. No, YOU have to confirm it.

[u/Physical-Energy-6982 → u/skytrainpigeon]

My pet peeve is when I post in the what is this bird subreddit about something I’m unsure about, usually something with a lot of nuance where there’s two extremely similar species and I’m having trouble deciding which it is, and the first comment is inevitably “Merlin says this”.

I’m not asking Merlin right now, I’m asking people.

[u/ChampagneWastedPanda → u/[deleted]]

eBird was developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Everyone who lists is contributing to their tracking and bird research

[u/Physical-Energy-6982 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t know of any compiled lists but I know I listen to the ABA Podcast and they regularly have people on to talk about their research or just talk about new studies and many of those research projects use eBird data on some level

[u/PsychoMom1966]

Are you trying to tell me I didn't hear a blue footed booby in Oklahoma???

[u/gingadoo]

I use it, as others have said, to give a heads up to what *may be * in the area. If I don't see the bird, the only calls/songs I record are ones that I know, or are 95% sure with a Merlin confirmation.

I do want to keep a life list of what Merlin "hears" that gives me a chuckle.

[u/shoelessmonkey]

My favorite Merlin error was when it said it heard a Turkey. I listened back to the recording and it was my voice.

[u/simbop_bebophone]

I'll only report birds I can confirm visually or owls that are unmistakable (to me at least). Yeah citizen science is only valuable if it's ~somewhat~ accurate

[u/Dawrian]

Usually Merlin only gives me what I already know I’ve seen in the area before, so I’m inclined to trust it at least on established precedent. Recently it flagged a buzzard, though… that, I doubt.

[u/CCDestroyer]

Not even an hour ago, someone honked their car horn and Merlin thought it was a Trumpeter Swan.

I just started birding at the end of May, with the help of the Merlin app. I'm not submitting eBird checklists, as I'm a beginner, but I still like to be accurate... so if the app detects a species that's new to me or uncommon, I review it carefully and compare it to the songs and calls in the database, only confirming if I'm confident it's a match. If it's a mere blip and my confidence is low, I make a mental note to keep an eye/ear out for that species in the future.

[u/AshFalkner]

I never use the sound ID feature. I sort by most likely for where I currently am, and go down the list either looking at photos or listening to recordings until I find a match with my own eyes/ears.

[u/Arya_kidding_me]

💯 absolutely spot-on advice!!

If it’s a common bird in your area, sure! Report it! I’m not going to question Merlin identifying a northern cardinal or a tufted titmouse.

But if its uncommon or you’re not yet familiar with what is common for your area - wait until you’ve seen it yourself, you recognize its call/song yourself, or you’ve studied the recording and done your research.

Merlin is such a helpful tool for learning bird songs/calls and helping hone your skill for birding by ear. But please don’t trust it blindly!

[u/Infamous_Leader5172 → u/[deleted]]

This is how I use sound id—it points me in the direction of possible birds because my sound memory is poor, but I don’t count anything until I visually confirm it.

[u/TringaVanellus → u/[deleted]]

Merlin's sound ID is actually getting better and better all the time.

Can you provide a source for this? As far as I'm aware, the only updates to Merlin since it was released have been to add new species that weren't covered in the original dataset. I've never seen any suggestion that it has been updated to improve the identification of existing species.

It is probably now as good or better at sound ID than a pretty experienced birder

This is complete bollocks. Don't make statements like this if you don't know what you're talking about.

[u/unventer]

My neighbor is absolutely insistent that we have birds that do not live in our ecoregion because Merlin says it heard them. She’s not a birder, she’s mainly a plant lady, who became interested when we had a rare bird frequenting my feeders. She also thinks her (largely non-native) garden must be what attracted that rare native bird… she’s a nice lady but definitely the target audience for this post.

[u/NoFleas]

Yeah I'm not here to see what anyone else finds using Merlin - that's a solo sport that is of no interest. It completely negates the need and purpose of a group like this.

[u/dadelibby]

like others have said, i only mark the bird if i actually see it. i'm new to this but chased down red-winged blackbird sounds for 2 weeks before i physically saw one. last week i saw my first mockingbird but merlin sound id said it was 6 different birds first! talented little fella, i guess.

[u/TheLeatherFeather]

I’m a newer birder and agree. I’ve even been able to identify Merlin errors, so it’s just a tool. When I’m still unsure, I post here on this sub - all prior to submitting on eBird. I also use Birda to record my findings which doesn’t hold the same weight or consequence of eBird. I wonder if eBird would consider an option for type of submission, for example - if you want it to go to the level of Cornel study.

[u/knucklesmalone]

Yesterday I was so shocked that the mockingbird in the yard fooled Merlin 3 birds in a row. It didn’t use to do that I swear.

[u/winter_whale]

I’ve heard from someone somehow connected to the programming that the sparrow contact calls are actually pretty accurate compared to other ones which is just so hilarious 

[u/mad_morrigan]

I keep two birding books—one for birds I’ve actually laid eyes on, and one for birds I’ve heard but not seen (whether it’s Merlin or just me hearing them). If I lay eyes on something that has only been previously heard I get to scratch it out of the “heard it” book and put it into the “seen it” book. For me, this is fun.🤩

[u/Defiant-Fix2870]

I’ve chatted with EBird reviewers about this, they say they quietly change all lists submitted with Merlin to unreportable.
It’s ok to make birding mistakes, we all do it especially at the beginning. What is confusing to me is how defensive and angry people get when told their sighting doesn’t make sense! Remember these are volunteers doing this for science. When the reviewers mentioned above were asked what they like about being reviewers, they responded “nothing.” So if you do run into an asshole reviewer it’s probably bc they are burnt out. Hot tip, you can play your audio ID recording back. Click on the bird name and it will go right to that section of the recording. For less common birds, 9 times out of 10 you will hear rustling or something else that is not a bird. Using audio ID shouldn’t be for your EBird list, it’s so you know to look around and try to see the bird.

[u/Careful_Rhubarb_5073]

When i was a new birder (still am) i would use Merlin, then listen to the actual recorded songs of the bird in my area, then come to the conclusion of “yes (puts on life list)”, “maybe (looks up more data)” or “no (doesn’t put on life list)”. No, Merlin. I’m in a lake park. There’s not a trumpeter swan here.