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<p>Hi again,</p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> So here is the latest update on my adventures into birding by ear ...</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> I went to a location (The "Upland Trail" at Padilla Bay) that I've been going to</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">this summer. I was seeing and hearing about the same number of birds as</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">before ... and I was there at approximately the same time. This location has</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">a lot of times when you are out in the open (grassy fields) and then also a lot</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">of times when you are in the forest/understory - but also a lot of time when</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">the ability to view/look around is seriously impeded by brush/small trees.
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> But! Using Merlin it 'found' no less than 38 different species. Of those</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">5 or 6 were "uncommon". So using Merlin Sound ID to 'discover what might</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">be around' is definitely good.</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> A couple of gotchas however ...</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> 1) Many of the birds SoundID found were never seen visually. I even spent</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> quite a bit of time sitting on one of the many benches and watching the</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> area and my phone to see if I could find the birds visually. I would say that</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> about half were never seen in the entire 2+ hours.</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> 2) I found it quite disconcerting that SoundId often did not hear bird calls</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> that I was hearing -very- clearly. I could hear the bird calling/singing</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> but SoundId never flagged them on my phone. It didn't flag anything at</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> these times.
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> 3) A lot of the "never seen" birds (see #1) were also flagged ... when I</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> heard nothing at all. Is my hearing really that bad? I intend to test</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> this more ... even enlisting the help of others to confirm that they</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> "heard nothing/something" when I heard nothing and SoundId flagged.</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> 4) I have added several new (to me) bird songs/calls that I had been</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> hearing all along - but didn't know which bird it was.
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> So, overall I am finding SoundID to be a very useful tool for learning bird</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">songs/calls.</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> - Jim</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">
</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">P.S. I got a very long look at a nestbox occupied by a family of Tree Swallows</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> where the adults were zooming here and there after insects and then</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> returning to the box to feed the young bird who had its head stuck out of</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> the hole and was blocking the entire hole. At one point I briefly thought I</span></p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> saw a probable second young behind and above its head.
</span></p>
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