[Tweeters] Use of Merlin app

[Stephen Chase via Tweeters]

Hi Tweeters,
I'd like to offer a bit of a different perspective with Merlin. It's a bit
long, so if you're interested in the topic, I ask that you bear with me a
bit. It's specific to Merlin Sound ID.

I would have no concern whatsoever with seeing an empid, having Merlin ping
"Hammond's," and then reporting to eBird as Hammond's. We're quick to think
of Merlin in human terms, like a mistake-prone birder, which it is not. As
humans, we occasionally make mistakes with similar songs - likely even the
same ones that Merlin mistakes. I'll be the first to admit that I've
mistaken a flat Orange-crowned Warbler song, and probably a Chipping
Sparrow song, for Dark-eyed Junco. That said, once I see the bird, I have
no doubt. Orange-crowned Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos
look nothing alike. I'd argue the reverse is true as well: Kenneth, in your
case you clearly identified the bird as an empid. Hammond's and Dusky
Flycatchers, while very similar by sight, have unique songs that are
considered diagnostic for identification. In fact, many guidebooks argue
that they are the only reliable way to differentiate between the two.
Merlin did not even see an empid, and yet it, listening to the wide world
of sound, immediately flagged hearing a Hammond's Flycatcher. I can't think
of a better way to confirm Hammond's, especially if you did not (cannot)
hear the song yourself.

On here and on eBird, I see birders are adjusting to Merlin. Quite often on
eBird, birders like to comment about mistakes Merlin made. I do the same
thing. You know what that tells me? It tells me that both new and
experienced birders are using Merlin - often! So am I. Since I finally got
around to buying a spotting scope, I think no tool has had a more
significant impact on my birding than Merlin - and undoubtedly for the
better. Last week in Newhalem, a fellow birder and I were trying to figure
out a quiet flycatcher that was behaving like a Dusky. Then it began
calling. I know that my fellow birder knows Dusky's dry whit, and I like to
pretend that I do too, and yet we both simultaneously whipped out our
phones, turned Merlin Sound ID on, and yes - it immediately pinged Dusky
for both of us. Woohoo!

I often turn Merlin on while I'm walking along quiet trails or country
roads, and virtually always when I'm parked and scoping a pond or field. I
love to have Merlin running on the side. It provides a list of the birds I
am hearing, allowing me to concentrate on scoping. It doesn't do well with
road noise, and I find it tends to miss lower notes, especially American
Bittern. But on the other hand, I find it remarkably good at picking up
some species, particularly American Robin from even very long distances.
Then as I'm birding, I can refer to the list Merlin pulls up when I'm
inputting information into eBird, which I do at regular intervals while I'm
scoping. If Merlin hears something I don't, I'll make a point of listening
for that bird. I usually let Merlin run for no more than five minutes at a
time before turning it off to input seen and heard data into my eBird
checklist. If I let Merlin run too long, it can take a while to save the
file, and it becomes a hassle to use that file later on if I need it to
document a species. The biggest downside with Merlin is that it drains my
phone's battery very quickly - and probably isn't good for the long-term
health of my battery. Oh well - birding is good for my long-term health and
Merlin makes birding even more fun!

A challenge I like to play with Merlin is comparing what I hear with what
Merlin hears. I'm blessed at this stage in my life to have better ears than
Merlin does - I'm sure that will change as I get older. I usually hear and
identify a bird well before Merlin does, especially when I'm walking, which
causes a lot of white noise that affects Merlin's ability to keep up with
me. Sometimes it beats me to a bird, and when it does, then I've got a
target to try to find! I have found Merlin very reliable at differentiating
between sounds I find challenging, in particular Townsend's and
Black-throated Gray Warblers - certainly significantly more reliable than I
am. When it pings one or the other, I'll make a point of looking closely
for that bird. If I see it, great! If not, of course I won't add it to my
checklist, except maybe as Townsend's/Black-throated Gray Warbler. As I
bird, Merlin gives me frequent targets to find and focus on along the way,
as it picks up species that I would have otherwise missed. In this way, it
improves the accuracy of my checklists, reducing human error and helping me
develop more thorough checklists that paint a more accurate picture of what
really is in the area. Does that not significantly improve the quality of
the eBird database?

This morning <https://ebird.org/checklist/S171698023> while birding, Merlin
beat me twice, as it picked up Mourning Dove and Solitary Sandpiper before
I did. The Solitary ping was a flyby Solitary Sandpiper that I might have
missed altogether. I did not catch the initial call myself, but Merlin did,
and as soon as Merlin pinged it, I got excited, listened closely, and heard
it myself. At first, I was a bit torn about whether or not to include it on
my checklist. But I felt confident in doing so, even though it felt a bit
lame to not get a nice look at the bird. Because Merlin allows me to save
my recordings, I even had a good audio clip to back up the observation
should anyone want confirmation. Thanks, Merlin! A few minutes later, I saw
a (the?) Solitary Sandpiper in the wet spot I was walking towards: taller
than a Spotted with greenish legs, a slight body bob once in a while - yep,
that's a Solitary!

To be clear, if Merlin had pinged the bird, and I did not see or hear it, I
would not report it. As many have said, Merlin's IDs are suggestions. A few
weeks ago, Preston Mui previously shared a link from Cornell that explains
the science of Merlin. Merlin is AI - artificial intelligence. The link is
here
<https://www.macaulaylibrary.org/2021/06/22/behind-the-scenes-of-sound-id-in-merlin/?doing_wp_cron=1714762697.2039508819580078125000>
if you missed it. I'm a high school teacher, and AI is very much at the
forefront of my attention in my profession. The debate in school settings
is what to do about AI: ban it or encourage it? In a school setting, we're
talking about AI in the context of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as
ChatGPT or Bing AI, but I think the principle still applies to Merlin. I
absolutely recognize the concerns about AI - in a school setting
cheating/plagiarism is the major concern. In birding, the concern is users
inputting data based on what Merlin hears and IDs, not on what they hear
and ID. On the other hand, the potential of AI in my profession is
enormous. It's fantastic for improving differentiation for my students, and
does a wonderful job of simplifying mundane teacher tasks like making
schedules or turning lecture notes into a test. If used correctly, I think
Merlin has incredible potential as well. Two examples in particular: 1)
identifying unfamiliar sounds to help new and experienced birders to get
onto birds, and 2) databasing audio clips of recorded birds for improved
documentation.

One buzz word in the AI world is "hallucination." Every once in a while
ChatGPT will hallucinate - produce content that is clearly false or in some
cases makes no sense whatsoever. When Merlin IDs Dark-eyed Juncos as
Chipping Sparrows, that's an example of a hallucination. As you get to know
AI products, you'll quickly see how hallucinations tend to fall into
patterns. Orange-crowned Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos all
fit within those regular hallucination patterns that Merlin makes. I'm sure
there are many other examples as well - Swainson's Thrush seems to be a
regularly-hallucinated ID on Merlin too. Going back to Kenneth's dilemma,
I'd argue that it's extremely unlikely that Merlin would hallucinate a
Hammond's for a Dusky. Besides, if you still do feel uncomfortable about
IDing the empid as Hammond's just because Merlin did, remember that if you
saved the audio file, you can upload that clip to your Hammond's
observation on your eBird checklist, documenting your sighting with an
audio clip that others can review.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

In Everson,
Stephen Chase

On Fri, May 3, 2024 at 5:58 AM Rob Faucett via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:


> Hi Phil & TEEETERS - If you find a regular or repeatable Merlin

> problem/mistake  (like this one) it would be great if you could let me or

> the Merlin People know.

>

> Users are the best form of improvement assistance.

>

> Thanks and good Merlining!!

>

>

> rcf

> —

> Rob Faucett

> +1(206) 619-5569

> robfaucett at mac.com

> Seattle, WA  98105

>

> On May 2, 2024, at 6:48 PM, Philip Dickinson via Tweeters <

> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>

> I would list it as empid, especially given Merlin’s regular suggestion

> that juncos are Chipping Sparrows. Indeed, remember that Merlin is only a

> suggestion, not a certain ID.

>

> Phil Dickinson

> Sent from my iPhone

>

> On May 2, 2024, at 6:25 PM, Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <

> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>

> 

> I use Merlin mostly when I'm birding alone.  I'm hard of hearing, using it

> alerts me to the possibility of nearby birds I didn't hear.  I don't list

> birds I didn't hear if I didn't see them.  I toured the Darlin Creek

> Preserve this afternoon, among the birds Merlin ID'd but I didn't list were

> Black-throated Gray Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Wilson's and Yellow warbler,

> Lesser Goldfinch and a couple of others because I didn't see them.  I did

> rely on Merlin for one species ID though, and now I'm wondering if I should

> have.  Hammond's Flycatcher appeared on my phone and I found the bird.  It

> was active and so not staying in place very long but it fit the description

> and I listed it.  After consideration, I have to say that without Merlin's

> prompting I wouldn't have been sure I could distinguish it from a Dusky

> Flycatcher.  In this situation, where voice is critical, is using Merlin to

> make that determination acceptable?  Or should I have listed it as an Empid

> species?  What does the birding world think?

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