Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying out a mobile phone app called ‘Merlin’ from Cornell Labs. This app helps you identify birds by their call – something that appealed to me as I can often hear birds calling but have a hard time identifying them until I see them (which doesn’t always happen).

I’ve shared my main reflections from this exercise below and would sum up by saying this is a fun app to use and probably a great engagement tool for people who a) are enthusiastic but not confident birders, b) who have been waiting for a non-sight dominant way to identify birds and c) for those who just like to try something new.

I found the accuracy and sensitivity of this app somewhat frustrating when out in more wild environments but responsive and fun when in more urban settings – so maybe this would be perfect for our ‘birds-in-backyards’ fans and for those who love a good meander up in the hills of Cowra’s Japanese gardens and surrounds – it worked pretty well up there!

The Merlin app picks up calls from ebird – another Citizen Science led initiative that allows users to upload their data and contribute to a wider data-set of knowledge. It’s likely experienced birders will get more out of recording sound and uploading to ebird than they will out of Merlin at this moment in time. It’s a case of ‘choose your own adventure’ at this point.

1 hour walk around Mulyan (Belleview or Billy Goats Hill), Cowra.

Picked up the following:  Magpie, Eastern Yellow Robin, Rainbow Lorikeet, European Starling, Noisy Miner,  Pide Currawong, Superb Fairywren, Brown Treecreeper, Golden-headed cisticola (???), Striated pardalote, red wattlebird, willie-wagtail, yellow-faced honeyeater.

Generally pretty good. I saw & heard all of the above except the cisticola which I suspect is a bum steer and the pardalote which I suspect was there as it picked up the call in a fairly well covered area. 

The app didn’t pick up a couple of birds that I could clearly see but that didn’t call out while I was there.  I think one was an eagle of some sort, another was a crimson rosella. 

Didn’t identify the thornbills that I could see but not clearly and could hear.  

Definitely felt responsive and fun to do in this area although still not great on the little birds that chatter over the top of each other. 

20 minute survey around private property in Woodstock.

Golden whistler, Gang Gang Cockatoos, Galah, Pied Currawong, White Throated Treecreeper, Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, Eastern Spinebill (?),  Australian Raven, Australian Magpie.

Not sure about the Eastern Spinebill but everything else adds up. Again was unable to pick out the yellow rumped thon bills & Striated thornbills which I saw.

20 minute survey in Blackheath, Popes Glen Walk. 

Less responsive around here. Couldn’t recognise a rock warbler even though it was clearly visible and audible to me.  Was constantly picking up New Holland Honeyeaters which were all around and dominating sound scape. Then it moved to the Red Wattle bird which was also loudest bird calling. 

Eastern whipbird was picked up quickly. Also pied burrawong and king-parrots but not crimson rosellas which were feeding near by but not calling out.  Also didn’t identify the Lewin’s Honeyeater that was calling out nearby and that I saw.

Failed to pick out any of the smaller wren & thornbill mix that were in shrub near track.  Didn’t ID any even though the app was ‘listening’.

Overall less successful at identifying the birds here than at other sites I’ve visited.

General Feedback.

* Easy to use and good fun but a companion tool rather than substitute for human data collection. 

* App seems to struggle when multiple birds are calling.

* App seems to focus on loudest call so if there’s a dominant call in area, other birds don’t stand a chance (cockatoo, wattle bird etc)

* App can’t ’see’ birds not making calls which is quite obvious but a bit frustrating when you want them to appear on your list and they don’t.

* I’m not sure if having a plug-in microphone that can be directed at birds would help but sometimes the app did seem at times to struggle to register bird call in complex noisescapes (running water, traffic, aeroplanes, people chatting etc).

*  Some possible bum-steers with app  i.e misidentifying a rock warbler as a New Holland Honeyeater (may have been one in vicinity but I didn’t hear it call and could clearly hear and see the rock warbler). 

Here’s a link to the app. Merlin bird app.