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.

That’s an absolutely classic puffin pic!

DH and I got some decent binoculars at the point when we started having more time to go to reserves etc. We were talking about a bird we were looking at, some bloke commented about what were we doing with expensive binoculars if we couldn’t be sure what a redshank was.😂

"I’ve unfortunately seen a fair bit of snooty-ness in the birding world"

Yes I remember many, many years ago, before I'd become interested in birds, I asked someone getting very excited in a car park in Wales, what was it about the bird they were watching that made them know it was a Red Kite. The scorn I got was horrible.

I go through life generally with the philosophy that there's no such thing as a stupid question - if someone is curious and is interested enough to ask me a question then that's a good thing and I'll do my best to answer it.

Edited to add after @ErrolTheDragon 's post about the chap commenting about the red shank: there must be people who are born with bird ID knowledge and don't need to use guides or practise their new skills.

Yes… including knowing whether or not there’s anything that looks similar.

my sparrows appear to have so many babies that they are feeding, i love it

Aw, @Festina , that’s such a shame!

My experience of birders has been so positive over the years. We went to see a stone curlew when we were in East Anglia and the guys there let us look down their amazing scope rather than our basic bins. I’ve had so many people (usually older blokes) in various hides help me identify what I was hearing and share their knowledge. It’s been lovely.

Now I’ve been doing it a longer while, I like that I can be someone who helps a new border identify something or spot a bird they are struggling to find. I helped a couple see a goldcrest this week. They were so excited!

We were at Bolton Abbey yesterday and a group of ladies were gazing up at a tree and wondering what a bird was. I was reasonably sure it was a black cap but checked using Merlin. I think there were probably 3 more downloads last night!

I've just found out (thanks Merlin ) the lovely birdsong I'm hearing is from a Eurasian Wren. It really is vocal.
Tonight it was in the birdbath getting a drink and I couldn't believe how much noise comes from such a tiny engine.

Wow @ErrolTheDragon and @MissMarplesNiece those are both shocking examples!

I just don’t understand that mindset. If I come across someone who’s not entirely sure what they’re looking at, I try to help. The thought of judging someone for not knowing something that I also didn’t know a few years ago is crazy!

I never even notice what binoculars people have, let alone judge if they’re skilled enough to use them 😂

@Monvelo what an amazing puffin photo. I'm off to Lundy this weekend so I am also hoping to see puffins. I haven't experienced any bird snootiness yet but there's always a first time, and I am relatively new to this.

On a more positive note, I’ve been inspired by that Guardian article to have a think about having a local birding patch. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while and preferably combine it with a nature journal. I’m not much of an artist, but think that could be a lot of fun.

Does anyone in this group keep a nature journal?

I would love to start a nature journal too. I do occasionally sketch birds but from my photos rather than in the wild.

I had my resident barn owl wake me up at 1.01am followed by a pheasant call two minutes later. I can only assume that they both came running / flying out of the nearby farmland at the same time.

Regards birding snobbery, it's definitely a thing. I'd consider myself a birder (as in I've loved birds since I was a nipper and I'm now 54, I can be found at my local nature reserve weekly with my bins) Most are friendly, but some are obsessive, like any hobby. We actually have a local ornithologist who is lovely, however, A: He admits that he's only been amassed his knowledge because his wife has brought up the kids and allowed him to bugger off every weekend indulging himself, and B: as much as he is very kind, knowledgeable and humble, he will always mention that he has Swarovski binoculars and a 5k camera.

A couple of years ago there was a barn owl that would sit on our dormer and yell it's head off at 2am everyday. We always sleep with the window open so we'd wake up every time and it sounded like it was in the room until we got used to it. More recently it's been tawny owls in the trees surrounding our garden.

Most people we see in hides or elsewhere looking at birds are friendly and helpful - that bloke was very much the exception.

the birds are enjoying the summer solstice

I take my son, 10, to look for birds as we have a great nature reserve locally with hides. The helpful lovely people far outweigh snooty people.

Last time we were there we had one couple glaring at us as if he was about to scare the birds away. But then he confidently identified a nuthatch and started telling me all about their behaviours and they relaxed a bit.

Other birders are usually over the moon to help him (and me) learn and spot things. It’s mostly a real community feel.

I have got into the habit of putting my Merlin app on and going back to sleep when I wake early on these summer mornings with the window open.

Today was such a good haul!

We do live fairly rurally, on a road but one that doesn’t wake up til about now. River and woods nearby.

Ooh chough and raven! Where do you live?

A sharp eyed, interested child can be a huge asset! A couple of months ago in a hide at wwt Martin Mere we had the good fortune to be in a hide with one who spotted all sorts of birds with his naked eye before the adults, including a skulking water rail.

Cornwall, but not near the coast where I’d expect to see/hear a chough

It's nice to know I'm not alone! My colleague recommended merlin a couple of weeks ago and I've had the most fun with it. We have a lot more species around my house than I realised, it's fascinating.

My biggest anomaly is a kingfisher. There is a small brook about half a mile away but it seems very unlikely. It has suggested it twice now though so I'm alert for a flash of blue, even though I suspect it's not got it quite right.

My phone buzzing on a hard surface was identified as a bittern and my crying DD was a Canada Goose!

@DiggoryVenn I love South Stack. I've seen peregrine falcons around there too - they're always a treat.

Festina, that just seems so crazy to me! I’d be thrilled if someone asked me something about birds, not that I know much really. I’ve not encountered unfriendliness. Maybe it’s because I don’t wear binoculars so I’m not even on the radar, though I can’t say I’ve noticed anyone else wearing any either. Or it might be that I don’t walk in typical ‘birding’ spots or nature reserves generally as can’t take the dog.

Reminds me I was having a river swim a while back and a man was telling his young son who’d stopped nearby to listen to the Nightingale. He kept saying wow it’s a nightingale. It absolutely was not a nightingale, it was a Cetti’s Warbler but I did not correct him. I just smiled as it was a nice interaction. Of what benefit to me, them or the world was it to say no you’re wrong.

Love the puffin photo! Once we had a wonderful though disappointing (wildlife wise) trip to St Kilda and despite staring at the waves to the point of almost hallucinating fins, while the leader merrily told us about a pod of orca circling the boat on the last trip, we saw nothing. Then, when we arrived even the puffins had gone. 😆

Canada goose haha. I do see a lot of kingfishers but always on a river. Are you sure there’s not a hidden babbling brook? 😁

So @grapefruitnights and I have both had Merlin suggest geese for children! I suppose it could be worse...

Likle grapefruit I've only ever had a lovely time with other more experienced birders. I had a lovely chat with lots of them in Feb '24 when we were all gathered around a dual carriageway watching waxwings - such a weird place for birders to be gathered but it was absolutely magical. A flock of waxwings with their thin metallic calls sounded like a little chain of bells.

DP was asking about a squeaky hinge he could hear and I realised it must be a bullfinch, which we then found in a hornbeam nearby. It's always exciuting to find a bird becauyse I've learnt its call through using Merlin so much.