The tools we have for birding have increased and improved since the old days when ornithologists had to shoot birds and hold them in their hands to get a positive identification. The invention of binoculars available to the masses was the first major advance. The field guide was next.
Since then, countless internet resources have been invaluable. But nothing in decades has had the impact that the creation of Merlin has. For those not familiar with Merlin, it’s an app for your phone that identifies the birds singing around you.
You can download Merlin for free, walk out in your backyard, hit the “Sound ID” button, and you’re off. I stepped out onto my deck as I was writing this and picked up Canada goose, American crow, black-capped chickadee and American goldfinch in 30 seconds. While listening, a sound spectrogram scrolls across the top of the display showing the time and frequency structure of the sounds being recorded.
I’ll cover more of the history and mechanics of Merlin in a bit. But my main point is that this tool — another masterpiece from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology — has opened up birding to a whole slew of new people. I tell friends of friends about Merlin.
I tell people who write to me with bird questions and observations. And I tell people I run into in Boise parks who stop to chat. By carrying binoculars and a camera, I meet a lot of curious people.
It has amazed me how many have downloaded the app and then reported to me about what birds they�.