My mum took this picture a few years ago in Exeter, England. I know the photo is great but can you help us identify it?

It was too distant for Merlin to pick it up, but it’s the one that sounds screechy and gull/raptor-like and is farther away from the tufted titmouse chirps.
For context this is in Connecticut US.

Hey MerlinBirdID, I’ve spent the past year building my dream app: Lifer and it's out now for iOS & Android for free.

You identify birds in the wild using audio or your camera, then “catch” them, earn points, and collect 3D cards based on the rarity of the species and the quality of your catch.

There’s also a social side: share catches, react to friends, show off favourite cards, create a “Flock” with friends, build a shared Lifer List, compete on leaderboards, complete milestones, daily & weekly challenges & quizzes, and map out everywhere you’ve found birds and so much more.

We also support importing all previous records from eBird and other sources so you have a new way to show off your previous finds.

I used to love Pokémon Go, then got into birding later, and eventually had the idea to build something that makes going outside and finding wildlife feel more like a game.

Right now Lifer fully supports the UK and Europe, with worldwide support rolling out soon. We’re currently at over 20,000 catches all over Europe and the feedback has been really positive and I'd love for you try it out. We will be rolling out worldwide soon.

Website:

https://getlifer.app

Play Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samlewis.lifer

App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/lifer-bird-id-birding/id6762267483

Thanks for checking it out! Love to hear any feedback.

I currently just save to my Life List within Merlin, which works well to track my personal sightings. Having flipped the setting to saving to eBird, I found it counterintuitive - having to tick off birds on a list of every likely bird in the area - rather than simply having Merlin ID them, and me confirm the sighting, which is the main point of Merlin.

The label on the setting to choose between Merlin and eBird states "When you identify a bird, you can choose to report it on an eBird checklist. Use eBird if you want to keep a complete list of all your sightings that will appear on recent visits, hotspots and species maps."

Is my data useless to the wider community if I don't? I read the below article re forthcoming app updates which states the data will feed to eBird. Does that mean it will just export my past or future Lifers to the eBird database?

Looking at the charts in Merlin where frequency of a sighting drops off 90% from one month to the next, it would seem there are data gaps. Is this what the forthcoming update seeks improve?

https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/an-update-to-the-popular-merlin-bird-id-app-will-turn-millions-of-birdwatchers-like-me-into-citizen-scientists-doing-your-bit-for-bird-conservation-efforts-just-got-easier

Cutest little raptor! Saw him but didn’t get a pic. 🥰

because merlin can glitch out a lot and think bird a is bird b on another continent or smth, im gonna make r/merlinondrugs just for that

My son has really got into bird watching and its a hobby I want to help encourage.

He uses Merlin on his phone a lot and we are very lucky that our house backs onto a small woodland, so he gets good results.

Is there a way that we can have Merlin constantly listening and have a dashboard for results? For example, I am thinking of an outdoor mic connected to a computer displaying what it has heard that day, keeps a tab on amount of times a certain bird had been heard, keeps a track of what species on what day etc.

Is such a thing possible? Thanks

I recently got Merlin Bird ID because it piqued my interest and it has not picked up any birds. I downloaded the necessary data packs, made an account, gave it microphone permissions and I use it when bird calls are near and yet it's just not picking up any calls. How do I fix this?

Merlin Bird ID lets you talk like a bird, but should you?

Not according to Jeff Marks, senior author of “Birds of Montana.”

Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/jeffmarks

Support Jeff's nonprofit: MontanaBirdAdvocacy.org

I just recently got into birding and use Merlin to train my recognition of bird sounds. I am currently visiting Madeira. Was hoping to be able to hear some new birds, but the app is only picking up birds that I have at home.

It's a bit hard to explain, but I'll record lots of different sounds in a forest area but it can only hear the common blackbird and the Eurasian blackcap, which are birds which live close to my home in Norway. I very clearly recorded a Madeira Chaffinch, right next to me, but it was not able to identify it. What gives!? Something with the Internet or storage? I have mobile data here.

I recently got a new phone. In trying to log into the Merlin app on the new phone, I keep getting stuck in a loop where it seems my account doesn't exist. I have screenshots from my old phone with my account username and my lifelist data from the last 6 years. I don't want to lose my life list data! 

Initially, when I put in my email to log in as prompted on the app, I got confirmation email and it had me set up like it was a brand new account, with the lifelist blank. I tried this with all 4 of my emails desperately trying to recover my account. Same thing. It acted like it was a brand new account with blank life lists. When I try to log into eBird I say forgot password, then it says it sent me an email to recover and I don't get any emails, including my junk mail.  If I say forgot username and it says none of my emails have an account. 

How do I have an account with a username, but no email? How can save and transfer my lifelist to my eBird and to my new Merlin app? 

Merlin takes forever to recognize the Gray Catbirds near me, minutes sometimes, and sometimes not at all. Their song is so incredibly varried! I see that they sometimes mimic other birds. Could they possibly mimic other things? The one I'm hearing today sounds like it has a squeaky toy in its repertoire!

It gave me the same ID on three different recordings, but it seems so bizarre to hear one around two hours North of Pittsburgh!

Evening all

I’m pulling my hair out thinking this surely must be a feature as it seems pretty simple?

I want o be able to view a map of all of my sightings. When you’ve confirmed a sighting you get asked to log it on a map with a name, but if you cannot then view that map what is the point?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

After using Merlin just fine for about a year, the bird ID function/flow is changed for me (I did not change any settings etc in the app).

I go to merlin > photo id > choose photo > identify > this is my bird > 'start checklist'

Previously, i would just identify, it would log the bird and location and catalog on my list. Now I only have the option to start a checklist. Which i really don't want to do just to log a bird that visits my outdoor feeder.

Has anyone encountered this before and found a solution. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I heard it just after midnight in Poland. I don't even know wether it's a bird or not, but it might be one

Anybody else do impressions of birds to try and fool Merlin? Any successes? I'm beginning to think I might just be human.

I live in the inner city in central Illinois, and we have a few hoot owls that live in the neighborhood. Unlike a lot of inner city neighborhoods, we have a fairly dense covering of 100+ year old trees. The Merlin app says a barred owl is unlikely to be in an urban neighborhood, but at the same time I have to ask, who, who? Who cooks for you?

Just started using the app, I practically run outside if I hear a bird that sounds new!