Merlin app

[NoTrespassing]

Sunday morning the Merlin app identified a Scarlet Tanager by its song. I couldn't see it so I played several calls with the app and sure enough, out he came with his bright red body and black wings. It's the first one I've seen on the property in 20 years. The Merlin app is very cool for any bird lover. I also called in an Indigo Bunting.

 

[WinterDeere]

Sunday morning the Merlin app identified a Scarlet Tanager by its song. I couldn't see it so I played several calls with the app and sure enough, out he came with his bright red body and black wings. It's the first one I've seen on the property in 20 years. The Merlin app is very cool for any bird lover. I also called in an Indigo Bunting.

Thanks for the recommendation. Checking it out.

I know very little about bird ID, I learned many as a kid, and then forgot. Even today, I will look one up to identify one I see outside, and then forget it again by the next year. This app will help, I think.

My mother used to call this memory affliction "half-timers", as some alliteration toward Alzheimer's, back when she was my age. Thankfully, she has gotten no worse in the 30+ years since.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I use a small blue tooth speaker paired to my phone to play the bird calls. In the evening we have called in Barred Owls. We had 3 of them in the trees around the house one night. My wife thought it was very creepy, I thought it was cool.

 

[scootr]

Barn owl babies making a racket in the big trees around the house every night for weeks now.
They just sit there and screech nonstop until a parent brings food. Eat and repeat. Hopefully the leave home soon.
We have a lot of birds of prey and insect hunters here. Wheat fields full of critters.

 

[oosik]

I have a barn owl family - down by my well. It's an easy 150 feet from the house. Those young owls can drive a person nuts. In the early evening - what a loud, obnoxious sound. Seems that patience is not one of their strong points.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Haven't see or heard any Barn Owls here, only Barred Owls, but there sure are a lot of them.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Thanks for the recommendation. Checking it out.

I know very little about bird ID, I learned many as a kid, and then forgot. Even today, I will look one up to identify one I see outside, and then forget it again by the next year. This app will help, I think.

My mother used to call this memory affliction "half-timers", as some alliteration toward Alzheimer's, back when she was my age. Thankfully, she has gotten no worse in the 30+ years since.

Let us what you think of it after you get a chance to try it. Very early morning is most successful for us. There are settings in the app like date and location I assume so it knows which birds to listen for. When I searched for the Scarlet Tananger I had the date set for May and it was too early in the year for it to be here so it wouldn't even show it to me. The app seems pretty sophisticated.

 

[NoTrespassing]

BTW, the app is free from Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Merlin Bird ID - Home

Bird ID Wizard—Step-by-step Answer three simple questions about a bird you are trying to identify and Merlin will give you a list of possible matches. Merlin offers quick identification help for all levels of bird watchers and outdoor enthusiasts to help you learn about the birds in any country i

merlin.allaboutbirds.org

 

[ponytug]

They do lots of great work.