I know there’s a lot of folks on here that pay attention to the seasonal movement of birds and enjoy watching the feeder,etc. I discovered a really cool app called “Merlin” which was created by the Cornell University Ornathology Lab. You can basically step outside, hit record on the app and it will listen and identify each bird in the area by its call. It begins to compile a list of each species it’s hearing and highlights that species on the every time it hears it’s call. I’ve been playing with it all summer. In my yard it definitely confirms all the birds I know are around (various sparrows, cardinals, robins, grackles, etc) but also identifies some finches and other things that aren’t as frequent, but hit the feeder from time to time. But take it in the woods and it really lights up. I look forward messing around with it in the deer woods this fall.
It’s free and completely legit, I do think Cornell probably mines the data on what birds the app hears and when for research purposes. They ask for an email and I’ve received a handful of messages from the lab over the summer but not a lot, and no SPAM or solicitation. More newsletter-type stuff.
I’ve been meaning to post about it for a while and keep forgetting. Noticed that Meateater is talking about it on their podcast this week and that jogged my memory. Haven’t listened yet, but looking forward to hearing more about it. Check it out wherever you get your apps! Happy Birding!
