Virginia Rails
I have a lot of bird apps on my phone...In fact I just counted and there are eight. I use three of them pretty much daily, eBird, iBirdPro, and the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club's What'sApp.
The others are RaptorID, Ducks Unlimited, BirdNET, Audubon Birds.....and Merlin, the latter of which I rarely opened until recently, but it just seemed as if I should have it.
That all changed when Merlin began to offer bird song ID and I took the time to download the package and figure out how to use it. What an incredible tool!
I think most birders have nemesis calls that they just can't pick out from the local fabric of bird song. For me some of the hardest fall among the not-a-robin complex.
After years and years I can finally tell a Baltimore Oriole's song from Turdus Migratorius quite reliably. And as long as I hear the chick bur of a Scarlet Tanager mixed in with the song I can get them pretty regularly too.
However, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak sounds enough different from a robin to notice that it is different, but not always enough to be sure what it actually is.
Enter Merlin. Twice in the past two days I have turned on the sound ID feature to discover that one of the unseen singers near me was a RBGR.
Cool!
Indigo Bunting, a song I do know well
I have a similar problem with Yellow Warblers and Chestnut-sided Warblers. I rarely mistake a CSWA if I hear one, but often think I am hearing one when it is actually a ubiquitous YEWA. (We have several pairs around the house and there are at least a couple singing from dawn to dark.)
Merlin set me straight every time.
I think I love this new feature.
Mourning Dove "MYOB!"
Additionally it is possible to add the recorded audio to eBird lists which saves a lot of steps. Normally I record with the camera, then have to put the audio on YouTube, export it to have it reformatted to a WAV. file, download it, then upload it to a list. Nice not to have to mess with all that.
Alas, yesterday when those cute little Virginia Rails at Sara Lib Quarry obligingly came out of the cattails to scurry around and come right up to my feet, my phone was overheating and I couldn't record their awesome calls. I think I may have a new favorite bird. Move over Carolina Wren, hello Rallus Limicola.
In other news I am pretty sure that the bird George and I heard up on Logtown Road was a Sora. He suggested that at the time. Heard something similar at the swamp where the rails are yesterday. Cannot wait to go back there on a cooler day in hopes that the critter that was calling will do so again and I can record and identify. It would be a lifer for me if so, and an awesome bird for the county as well.
Anyhow, if you struggle with songs sometimes, I heartily recommend the updated version of Merlin. I am really excited about using it.
We went to Yankee Hill Lock to check out
the new tent cities the
governor is promoting. Doesn't look as if
the tents will impact the park experience
as much as we thought when we read about them
Not sure I would want to camp among that much goose poo
though. There is a LOT!
What a neat tool! I'm glad you found it.
ReplyDeleteHow great to have an app that truly helps! Because of my poor eyesight, I mostly bird by ear, and yeah, all those birds you mention DO all sound like robins to me. Your mention of a Sora Rail reminded me of when I once took a birding course at U. of Michigan and on one of our field trips we went to a swamp and the instructor played the call of a Sora Rail. We soon heard its loud response, repeated again and again as the bird drew closer, invisible among the reeds. But then it charged up on the shore and shouted its call right back at the tape recorder that had challenged its territory. We stood agape at this wee little robin-size bird with the great big voice, having expected a bird of a size to match that voice, perhaps one as big as a Bittern.
ReplyDeleteRev. Paul, I love it! Just came in from playing with it during the dawn chorus and once again it picked out a Rose-breasted Grosbeak I was missing! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteJacqueline, what an incredible experience! I too thought that the rails were much bigger birds. Looking for something the size of a small chicken! I have heard Virginia Rails a number of times, but the quarry is the first place I have been close enough to realize how tiny they are. I find them utterly delightful. There is a Common Gallinule in that same spot....hoping to find evidence of breeding of all these unusual for our county birds. Now to search out a Sora.
Good! I have been struggling to figure out a bird call we only hear in the Back Forty, and only in spring, summer and fall. THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteLinda, I hope you can use it. Hope you will let us know on your blog how it works out! Love your photos!
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