[Tweeters] Merlin Complaints Backfire ! Badly.

[Robert O'Brien via Tweeters]

For quite a while, there have been complaints that some bird calls/songs
are reported as birds that 'cannot possibly be present'.by Merlin.  Merlin
is often held up to scorn.
But what if the bird IS ACTUALLY present, as a vagrant.  For instance
rare eastern warblers breeding/singing in coastal SW Oregon n (Think Tim
Rodenkirk)

I just made the terrible mistake of updating Merlin to the current
version.  *So very sad.*
With this version, if Merlin (in its infinite wisdom). decides that* 'it
can't be present'*  then Merlin simply ignores it.
That could be good for inexperienced birders who would be confused by a bad
id.  But, would IGNORING IT really help?
But for experienced birders, that means vagrants are out of bounds for
Merlin.  Either location or seasonal wise.

For instance, the wonderful ID of a White-eyed Vireo along the Tillamook
coast.  As I recall a very creative birder heard that call while driving;
didn't recognize it, backed up;,recorded it, reported to OBOL and OBRC, and
it became an accepted record.  White-eyed Vireo. Had she done that with the
new version.  Identifying it from Merlin would not have been possible. The
call would simply pass by in the sonogram with no reaction.  And very
likely never reported.  So (currently) sad.

*WEVI-2022-02
<https://oregonbirding.org/wp-content/uploads/OBRCphotos/WEVI-2022-02web.wav>
(A2)        Nehalem Bay State Park parking lot, Tillamook Co., 26 June
2022. Report and audio files BH.   Second state record*

*This OBRC report does not do it justice for how outstanding and creative
this 2nd Oregon Record was.  *

There are other resources for ID when Merlin cops out, but all of them are
difficult to use.

So, my advice (to everyone) DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE CURRENT VERSION.  If you
get a surprising ID, figure it out.  Real or not.,
Just sayin'  But, as always, it's your choice.

Bob OBrien   Carver OR

P.S. It took me hours to figure this all out.  And I checked it just now by
playing an On-line White eyed vireo song and recording it (both on my
phone, at my home location  Merlin reported 'No Suggestions'.  So very
sad.  Merlin is a fantastic resource, so powerful, and hopefully it will
one day be.  But for now, it seems to be floundering around in the UI (user
interface) and the concepts.
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