[Tweeters] Upping my game (sound ID)

[Jim Betz via Tweeters]

Rob/all,


   I would -certainly- like to reach out to the Merlin project 
managers.  I have tried in the

past and they didn't seem to care (probably because mine is just "one 
voice" ...?).  If

anyone on this list has any insider knowledge on how to get 
experiences/suggestions

to the people at Cornell doing these tools I'd certainly like some 
guidance on how to

do that.

- jim in Skagit

On 7/9/2024 1:33 AM, Rob Faucett wrote:

> 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.

>>

>> _______________________________________________

>> Tweeters mailing list

>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20240709/1f621838/attachment.html>