Cornell Labs bird ID app

[oldbrownhat]

My gf recently discovered this and it is very good! Not surprising, coming from Cornell. Seems to be good even in relatively noisy environmants, picking out birdsong from other ambient sounds.

Available on Six Continents, Merlin Bird ID Can Now Identify 6,000+ Bird Species

"The idea for the Merlin Bird ID app was hatched at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2009 as we asked, “Can we create an interactive tool to help people identify birds?” Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation, support from donors, and a wealth of data from birders, photographers, and audio recordists using eBird, our free Merlin Bird ID app has helped millions of people around the world to identify birds..."

 

[moosedog]

Thank you. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[Onomea]

I have bird app from Cornell that I use occasionally to ID birds visually and by responding to questions. (Where did you see it? How big was it? What was it doing?) Works pretty well. Maybe the same one and I have just not discovered the birdsong section yet.

 

[Krogen]

Thanks! Until now, I used the Audubon app. It's nice to have an alternative.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I have bird app from Cornell that I use occasionally to ID birds visually and by responding to questions. (Where did you see it? How big was it? What was it doing?) Works pretty well. Maybe the same one and I have just not discovered the birdsong section yet.

I think it may be the same. It can ask a lot of questions but just firing it up to record can give instant ID. You download a "pack" of samples for the area you're in and it does a comparison against numerous good-quality recordings by their contributors, and also shows a waveform. I briefly tried it at her place yesterday and it immediately ID'd "Bewick's wren".

I can see the "problem" with an app like this is that out on a walk we can become like those "head-down, brain on other planet" types we like to castigate for wandering into crosswalks, oblivious of all around them

 

[KalamazooKid]

Been using Merlin for a while with great results! Highly recommended.

 

[oldbrownhat]

...I can see the "problem" with an app like this is that out on a walk we can become like those "head-down, brain on other planet" types we like to castigate for wandering into crosswalks, oblivious of all around them

My gf sent me this pic of a friend in Ottawa using the app and a mic. What could possibly go wrong?

- "I didn't know Graham was into birding."
- "He's into everything"

I guess so. He's also "into" making good coffee, too. Being a Federal employee, I guess he can afford stuff like this!

 

[Golddollar]

My cousin told me about his app and it really is great. With the pictures it produces now I can identify the birds that come to my feeder.

 

[lkabug]

"All About Birds" a great bird resource.
Cornell does great works for the bird enthusiasts.

 

[Krogen]

My gf sent me this pic of a friend in Ottawa using the app and a mic. What could possibly go wrong?

One word comes to mind: waterfowl