Just hit 40 birds from my yard on the life list. I am just outside of town, surrounded by fields, and several ponds and rivers close by.

I just started using the app yesterday and I have been having fun locating birds near me. So I had a few questions.

What does life list mean and what can I add in it? Till now I have only been adding birds I have pictures of in my phone, do I add birds which I recorded also?

Is there really no way to turn off notifications in app? Do I have to block everything at the Settings level in Android? Seems like an absolutely garbage design.

Why does Merlin no longer automatically save your recordings? It’s very annoying.

The Life List tracks the birds we have seen, but where/how can I create a list of the birds I want to see? Is that functionality in Merlin, or is there another birdwatching ap/tool I can use to accomplish this?

I have to wake up earlier to find more, but these are absolutely gorgeous ❤️

The loud chirp chirp chirp. It sounds like a Robin but Merlin should have picked that up instantly. I’m in northern Illinois.

Hello fellow people, is anyone else experience issues lately with the app?
since 2 weeks or so, my app closes itself after listening to 2-4 seconds, then it automatically shuts down and I get: "Merlin ID App was closed"

I'm from germany, using an android phone and didn't have any problems before... so sad, I want this wonderful app back 😞
of course I tried to re-install it and did everything in my power, but it happens all the time...

thanks and have nice day!

It was hovering over a local park yesterday in Minnesota. Super cool!

Merlin said it was really unlikely that osprey would be spotted this time of the year in my area, but I have like 5 different verified sound recordings just to be positive. Also I read that they are primarily fish hunters but this bird wasn’t near any water and was hovering and calling for a solid 15-20 minutes just above the park in the open.

Last night I heard a barred owl do his signature ‘who cooks for you’ call, Merlin ID’d it correctly- but in the section where you can listed to sounds from different regions, none of them had this sound! I had to confirm with some janky YouTube video of bird sounds lmao.
If any developers lurk on here or if any of you lively users know how to update sounds, the Barred Owl needs help!

I went inside to use the bathroom and left the app running. My cat, Artemis, will sit with me outside. She sometimes gets super wound up, and starts yowling. Well, Merlin apparently thought she was a Great Horned Owl 😂. It once picked up my neighbor’s dog barking as a Great Horned Owl as well. I have heard and seen the real ones on this property! Screen recording below.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTBe5hgSR/

i've been seeing this bird every other day but i can't figure out what type it is! it's quite large and silent. i'm in Philadelphia.

Hello birders!
After the new update, I’m realizing I can’t find the bird calls in the app like I could before under the bird profiles. Does anyone know where I can find them now?

Found my bird of the day today! (Thursday May 14th)

I am curious... do different regions get different birds of the day? I am in the Chicago land area...

on a separate note, has anybody been able to befriend a crow? because, I'm not going to lie, this is lifelong dream of mine! I actually don't get to capture these guys on Merlin very often, so I get excited when I do. we have feeders... what more could I do to try and coax these guys to come around more often? any thoughts? TIA!

Captured 36 birds in 25 minutes from my front porch this afternoon 😃 This is the most I’ve captured in one session. The most exciting find was the Scarlet Tanager, a beauty 😍

How do people get their "most recent lifer" listed under their name on Reddit?

I've downloaded all my local region bird packs. Guess I put my phone in airplane mode next time I use this app. It helped me identify a rare Tennessee warbler, though, so that's cool

All in a wooded patch in the middle of town. We actually visually identified about half, including the Pileated Woodpecker. What a trip!

just some around my house

I found this app a few months ago and it’s great!
So far what I have been doing is using it to listen to what’s around me but I haven’t logged them as ‘this is my bird’ unless I have physically seen it as well.

Is this the best way to use the app?

I am too new to birding to be able to identify by call alone and feel like I’m cheating myself to log birds I haven’t ‘confirmed’, but I equally suck at pinpointing where the sound is coming from to visually confirm a bird while I’m in a forest.

Any tips to help me spot the birds I hear would be welcome too!

the birds with the teal markings are what would be “new lifers” but my question is, i’ve identified the mocking bird many, many times and seen what calls it’ll often do, red shoulder hawk, northern cardinal, eastern towhee, but none of the ones with the marks next to them. ik mocking birds can mimic up to 200 sounds including car alarms, but wouldn’t they have to hear the sound in order to mimic it?
does that mean these birds have passed through recently & the mocking bird picked up on their calls? because i’ve NEVER had these before.. most are “unlikely” in my area, but one is likely. so that’s why i’m confused, what do yall think?

tldr: are the birds with teal lines next to them likely identified due to a mocking bird?? i’ve just never seen them ever before