[Tweeters] Upping my game (sound ID)

[Rob Faucett via Tweeters]

Jim -  This is very cool.  And perhaps more  imptly I think it might be useful to the Merlin project managers. 

Keep it up!!

Rob
—
Rob Faucett
+1(206) 619-5569
robfaucett at mac.com
Seattle, WA  98105


> On Jul 8, 2024, at 1:16 PM, Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> 

> Hi again,

> 

> 

> 

>   So here is the latest update on my adventures into birding by ear ...

> 

> 

> 

>   I went to a location (The "Upland Trail" at Padilla Bay) that I've been going to

> 

> this summer.  I was seeing and hearing about the same number of birds as

> 

> before ... and I was there at approximately the same time.  This location has

> 

> a lot of times when you are out in the open (grassy fields) and then also a lot

> 

> of times when you are in the forest/understory - but also a lot of time when

> 

> the ability to view/look around is seriously impeded by brush/small trees.

> 

>    But!  Using Merlin it 'found' no less than 38 different species.  Of those

> 

> 5 or 6 were "uncommon".  So using Merlin Sound ID to 'discover what might

> 

> be around' is definitely good.

> 

>   A couple of gotchas however ...

> 

> 

> 

>   1) Many of the birds SoundID found were never seen visually.  I even spent

> 

>       quite a bit of time sitting on one of the many benches and watching the

> 

>      area and my phone to see if I could find the birds visually.  I would say that

> 

>      about half were never seen in the entire 2+ hours.

> 

> 

> 

>   2) I found it quite disconcerting that SoundId often did not hear bird calls

> 

>       that I was hearing -very- clearly.  I could hear the bird calling/singing

> 

>       but SoundId never flagged them on my phone.  It didn't flag anything at

> 

>       these times.

> 

> 

> 

>   3) A lot of the "never seen" birds (see #1) were also flagged ... when I

> 

>       heard nothing at all.  Is my hearing really that bad?  I intend to test

> 

>      this more ... even enlisting the help of others to confirm that they

> 

>     "heard nothing/something" when I heard nothing and SoundId flagged.

> 

> 

> 

>   4) I have added several new (to me) bird songs/calls that I had been

> 

>       hearing all along - but didn't know which bird it was.

> 

> 

> 

>   So, overall I am finding SoundID to be a very useful tool for learning bird

> 

> songs/calls.

> 

>                                                                      - Jim

> 

> 

> 

> P.S. I got a very long look at a nestbox occupied by a family of Tree Swallows

> 

>       where the adults were zooming here and there after insects and then

> 

>      returning to the box to feed the young bird who had its head stuck out of

> 

>      the hole and was blocking the entire hole.  At one point I briefly thought I

> 

>     saw a probable second young behind and above its head.

> 

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