Can you tell me what bird this is by using Merlin Bird ID?
The Intro
We can talk to someone half way around the world while watching a live image of them. A doctor can let you know what ails your internal organs by taking a 3 dimensional image without so much as making a nic in your skin. And now, there is a program that can tell you what North American bird you are looking at with a couple clicks of the mouse! Have you ever seen a bird and thought, “I wish I knew what kind of bird that is?” I know I get at least one call or email a week asking me “what bird is this.” Well, technology has caught up with that need. The Cornell Lab has come up with a new and fancy identification program called Merlin Photo ID, that lets you upload a picture and with a couple clicks of your mouse, will tell you which bird you are looking at. If that isn’t as good as a CAT scan machine, I don’t know what is.
The Picture
This little procedure is so simple. The first step is to find a picture of a bird that you would like to identify. if you don't have a picture at this moment, use the one that is at the top of the blog. Just right click the photo of the bird witht he orange beak and save it to your desktop. A profile of the bird is best, as you will see. The next step is to open Merlin Photo ID by clicking here. Now the program is going to ask for you to select a photo. Once your picture is up, you are asked to confirm that this is the photo that you want identified.
The Map
This is the location where the picture was taken. Please make sure that you click as close as possible to the spot where the photo was taken, as Merlin does a much better job when you mark the spot within a couple miles. You can make the map bigger by scrolling in, or clicking on the plus sign, as some of us need as much help with the small print as possible. Once you have chosen your location, you will be asked for a date. The newer digital cameras should have the date linked to the picture already so don’t be surprised if your date comes up automatically. Some of the older or edited pictures may not have this feature, so you will have to go into the memory banks for the closest date possible. The time of year is more important than the year itself. In some cases picking the right date makes all the difference in the final outcome.
The Hints
| Now the fun part. Merlin asks you to help with four hints to make sure you are going to get the best match possible. (This sounds like a dating site) The first hint is to narrow the picture down to just a bird by clicking and dragging a box around the subject. The second hint is to click on the end of the beak, and then the eye as the third hint and finally the tip of the tail. The last three hints help because the distance between the three points creates a ratio, or a number that can be linked back to a certain species. A hummingbird, for instance, can appear much larger in a photo than an eagle depending on how far away the two birds are from the camera. This check between beak, eye and tail will be a similar ratio even if the bird is 10 times smaller in the photo. |  |
The Truth
Here is the moment of truth. Click “next” and watch the flower go round until Merlin picks out your bird. It is like magic, or…….. some very good computer wizards have had some very long meetings with some very knowledgeable birders and have made a program that resembles magic. Either way, well done and my hats off to both groups. I have found that this program will bring up your bird 95% of the time as long as you follow the directions with the best information you can give. I have loaded over 25 pictures now and have had 24 of them identified correctly. If you used the picture at the top of the blog and would like to confirm the name of our mystery bird, please go to this link.
The Finish
I would love to hear how your bird ID’s come out. It might have been a bird who was in your vacation pictures waiting for an identification or just a bird that was at the feeder you didn't recognize. Post a comment and let me know how Merlin worked for you. For those of us that like to do it the old fashioned way, send me the picture. I’ll bet I am almost as good as the program...... or at least that is what I will tell myself! Good Luck and May the Flock be with You.