Merlin App Appreciation plus General Birding Chat

[DiggoryVenn]

A thread for all lovers of the Merlin app (app that allows you to identify birds by their sound). A place to share what you have spotted, ask questions and any other bird chat.

Caveat: I am pretty much a novice birdwatcher myself.

Mine for today: not sure about the Cetti's warbler but I could positively identify the rest.

I also have a question for those more knowledgeable: do you think this is a yellowhammer, siskin or something else?

It's asking me to confirm my email address, but I never receive the email I need to click the link in. Did that happen to you? Apparently I've got five days, well four now. It is a very nice app and accurate for me so far.

I recently came across this app. I know zilch about birds but love recording them! You've got a great list. I seem to pick up the same ones wherever I go. These are the regulars in our garden (although the Thrush was a one-off). Plus House Sparrows which are on another page!

@AudiobookListener I confess I don't remember registering but I think I may have had the same issue. I have had the app for at least a couple of years but I never "log in" as such. It doesn't stop me being able to use it though. Sorry, that's not too helpful.

Although I'm amazed I've not yet caught the seagulls nesting on a neighbours roof 😆

@Rodneynotdave my list is more unusual today because I visited a lake. It's usually a bit more "normal"!

My teens find it very embarrassing but I'm looking forward to recording away on holiday in Greece later this year. Knowing my luck it'll be the same list 😆

Oh I love it! Such a joy. I particularly appreciate the pause before it responds so I can guess first 🤣

Best bird heard so far- a raven. Amazing.

I’m not an expert but I think that ‘streaky’ look is a Siskin.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/siskin

I find the photos and illustrations on the rspb website are usually quite good.

Love this! I got a cuckoo recently on Merlin which I was thrilled about

Yes, I thought the yellow band looked more Siskin than Yellowhammer. I didn't hear it's call, so I couldn't capture it on the app.

That's great. I've only seen a cuckoo once (last year on Lundy) and only because someone pointed it out.

Ooh, hello!

I'm a birder, and I love the Merlin app. Just back from Amsterdam where I caught the rose ringed parakeet. Back home in NE England we have so many different birds, and I love it when the Northern Lapwings appear.

So excited to find this thread! I would say siskin, yellow hammers have a yellow head and down the front but otherwise quite brown, whereas siskins have streaky yellow in their bodies, they also tend to look more sleek than yellowhammers.

I’m in Greece, all that Merlin found so far has been the Eurasian Blackbird. I have those plus so much more in my garden at home.

I was so excited to record some interesting new birds on holiday in Egypt earlier this year. Just my luck it was all fecking pigeons.

Hope you have better luck in Greece!

I only learnt in the last few days (from the demand for a nature topic in Site Stuff, haha) that Merlin has audio now - it used to be visual only when I last checked a few years ago. I may need to reinstall! I'm on eBird but Merlin would up my species counts 😅

Re Cetti's warbler @DiggoryVenn, someone once told me a mnemonic to remember their call is 'Hey! I'm a Cetti's warbler!' and now I never miss one... They've very much come north from mainland Europe since the 1960s (probably thanks to climate change) and they're semi urban too - I've heard them along the river in the Olympic Park in Stratford.

We love it and also have a Mag5 for bats detection after dusk. We live opposite ancient oak trees and a pond on front of house and pooled, river and fields at the back of the house. It’s amazing

Oh I love the Merlin bird app! I’m hearing quite a few Cetti’s warbler at the moment. They’re so distinctive , louder than everything else , almost like those plastic bird whistles with water in.

That yellow bird is definitely a Siskin @DiggoryVenn. I get them on my feeders a lot, but according to the RSPB they’re a “more unusual garden bird”.

My feeders are currently full of juvenile goldfinches. There’s so many that none of the other birds can get anywhere near!

Today the jackdaw chicks that were raised in one of my chimney pots fledged the nest and…promptly flew into a window. They were a bit dazed, but fortunately managed to pick themselves up again after a few minutes. This is a nerve wrecking time of the year 😬

Btw, I always think Cetti’s sound a bit like a machine gun. We call them General Cetti in my house!

Love the Merlin app.
I was thrilled to bits to hear a cuckoo last week while walking in the Cheviot hills. It was calling for ages and sounded really close, but kept itself firmly hidden.

That's lovely @TamzinGrey, I haven't heard a cuckoo this year.

I wish I had paid more attention to the Cetti's warbler now - I'll have to go back!

It’s a brilliant app. I’m a fairly novice ‘birder’ and have always found identifying (and remembering!) birds by their song alone quite tricky. I have ‘spied’ the usual suspects in our garden: blackbirds, sparrows, thrushes, blue tits, robins etc. But the app picks up the songs of greenfinches and goldfinches in next door’s garden. Which sadly I never see in my garden, despite well stocked feeders here.

I went over to Swell Wood (Somerset) earlier today to see if I could spot any nesting herons. Apparently it is one of the largest heron breeding sites in the UK. I did see some young herons - photo is not great quality. I also spotted an egret and a woodpecker. A really lovely sight (and site)!

Merlin picked up these three, but unfortunately I didn't see any of them.

It took me quite a while hearing tree creepers on the app before I saw them. Now I spot them every so often and it’s always a treat. They’re much smaller than I thought, and so sweet when they spiral round the tree trunk!