Photo of the day

[lowangle al]

I like the Merlin app too, it's very easy to use.

Great photos Marc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but It's obvious to me, that you are not using your iPhone.

 

[Erica]

Merlin app. I love it. It even worked without wireless, which I do not understand. But I've been able to use the song and note identifier without any wireless connectivity available, such as on remote trips.

 

[GDahl]

Merlin app. I love it. It even worked without wireless, which I do not understand. But I've been able to use the song and note identifier without any wireless connectivity available, such as on remote trips.

Erica. How is that even possible? Unless...the entire "compendium" of bird songs is downloaded onto your PC/phone when you download the app?

I've just used the Audubon app for birdibg IDs... i think I'll give Merlin a try. I've forgotten so much since my ornithology class ... we had to ID 50 songs to pass the final exam lol...

 

[Tsuga8]

Merlin app. I love it. It even worked without wireless, which I do not understand. But I've been able to use the song and note identifier without any wireless connectivity available, such as on remote trips.

I will note that Merlin doesn't work with your phone's GPS turned off. It will listen but not ID. I usually keep my phone's GPS off - took a long and frustrating while to figure out that's why Merlin wasn't IDing any calls. But, I do believe it works without service (and I agree GDahl, hard to imagine it downloads an entire library of birdsong to one's phone, but it must have!)

 

[Erica]

I only used it for song identification. Before you leave civilization, you have to download the data base for the location you will be in. So, my merlin is typically set for Florida and that won't work in Quebec. I had to download a Canadian date base.

Also, the microphone picks up calls that are way far away. Ones I didn’t even notice. I had been afraid you would have to get up close to the call. You don’t. I’ve identified many birds near my house that never come down from the trees with it.

 

[MichaelMerry]

We often use the Merlin app backpacking and rarely have service on those trips. It works great if you’ve downloaded the birds for the region you’re in. We did a long backpack in the Pennsylvania wilds at peak warbler migration and identified about 25 unique calls. Then on a 10 night trip in glacier national park in August, we ID’d birds we’d not even heard of!

The only limitation I’ve noted when using it in airplane mode is that you’re unable to save birds to your life list (if that’s your thing). We work around it by taking a screenshot of the app and manually adding them later after the trip.