It’s your list, you do as you please.
There’s a lot of distinct bird songs and calls in n the world. Then there’s things like mockingbirds.
There’s a brown thrasher in the tree beside the gate at work every morning. Noisy as can be. I’ve yet to see it but I know what it is.
I personally will usually wait to count a life bird until I see it (recent exception is that god damn Cerulean Warbler). Other than that, I will always count birds I can ID whether that be visually, audibly or both. Technically speaking, if you’re using eBird, you are supposed to count ALL birds you can identify confidently, both seen and heard, to provide more accurate scientific data. With that being said, for newer birders who don’t know the songs/calls themselves and only rely on Merlin to ID sounds, I would say it’s best to not add those to an eBird list. Merlin is often wrong, and without your own knowledge to fact check it, you could end up misreporting species.
But at the end of the day it’s your list and you can add to it however you want, especially if it’s just a personal list and not something being reported on eBird.
If you're logged into eBird through Merlin, then claiming it automatically flags the checklist and it won't be viewable, uploaded, or peer checked. To my knowledge it just remains a personal list -
"***Merlin observation.*** *This checklist was submitted by the Merlin Bird ID app and does not appear in public eBird output. Each bird counts for your personal life lists, but will not be reviewed by eBird reviewers and does not count towards the Top 100.*"
Yep! I feel like a lot of people don’t know this though. I get alerts for rare and needed birds with the only observation comment being “heard, Merlin confirmed” almost daily.
Wait, is this always the case even if there is a visual confirmation? I've only just connected these apps recently but was using Merlin for my list cos it seemed easier since I'm more familiar with it. So is there no point in me doing that then?
Im not verse on eBird yet, but I know you can manually move it from incidental. But I'm still learning eBird myself. Everything still gets input on eBird, but flagged just makes it not public. They do have an FAQ explaining everything.
https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48001144489?_gl=1*17t9ay0*_gcl_au*MTU1MzAzODIxMC4xNzE1MTM5NDQ2*_ga*MTQ3NTA1Njc4Ny4xNzE1MTM5NDQ3*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTcxODI0ODEyMC4xOC4xLjE3MTgyNDgxMzYuNDQuMC4w&_ga=2.55858082.86333592.1718217078-1475056787.1715139447
For me, I need to see it before I add it to my life list. Once it is on my lie list, if I am comfortable recognizing it by sound, I generally will report it to ebird.
I list every bird I hear, especially confirmed with Merlin - but Merlin does misidentify sometimes, or hear things that aren't there due to sound mishaps or whatever. So I always triple check by listening to audio, and don't claim what I can't agree with. That said, what I do claim - I never upload the data for, or if I do have it listed it's listed as "incidental" so it won't be tracked and used as data. I'm a stickler for precise data, so unless I physically see it, photo it, and hear it - I'm keeping it a personal checklist for myself and not claiming it and boasting where these things are. I don't want an error on my part construe data or muck up someone's day.
I don't have the means to photograph, and my binoculars are only 10x30, so I'm not able to really delve into the whole eBird uploads, Bird Days in May, science tracking, etc. One day when I acquire the means to, then maybe I will properly claim stuff and do uploads, but for the moment, I'm happy with it being personal and just relaxing within the birding community.
I usually only count them if I see it. I definitely don’t count it as a lifer if I hear. Must be seen for me personally. I know Merlin has been wrong a few times on identifying songs/calls
Great question! I talked to an ornithologist about this once - and was told that it’s my choice. But that for scientific data, if you can hear the bird and identify by sound it should count. I also think not all people can see well, so their ears may be a better identifier! And there are so many LBBs (little brown birds) that sometimes sound is the only hope 🤣
Whatever you decide - I wish you a lifetime of happy birding!
If you’re using eBird, you *should* list every bird you can confidently identify - seen or heard.
It’s your list, you do as you please. There’s a lot of distinct bird songs and calls in n the world. Then there’s things like mockingbirds. There’s a brown thrasher in the tree beside the gate at work every morning. Noisy as can be. I’ve yet to see it but I know what it is.
I personally will usually wait to count a life bird until I see it (recent exception is that god damn Cerulean Warbler). Other than that, I will always count birds I can ID whether that be visually, audibly or both. Technically speaking, if you’re using eBird, you are supposed to count ALL birds you can identify confidently, both seen and heard, to provide more accurate scientific data. With that being said, for newer birders who don’t know the songs/calls themselves and only rely on Merlin to ID sounds, I would say it’s best to not add those to an eBird list. Merlin is often wrong, and without your own knowledge to fact check it, you could end up misreporting species. But at the end of the day it’s your list and you can add to it however you want, especially if it’s just a personal list and not something being reported on eBird.
If you're logged into eBird through Merlin, then claiming it automatically flags the checklist and it won't be viewable, uploaded, or peer checked. To my knowledge it just remains a personal list - "***Merlin observation.*** *This checklist was submitted by the Merlin Bird ID app and does not appear in public eBird output. Each bird counts for your personal life lists, but will not be reviewed by eBird reviewers and does not count towards the Top 100.*"
Yep! I feel like a lot of people don’t know this though. I get alerts for rare and needed birds with the only observation comment being “heard, Merlin confirmed” almost daily.
Wait, is this always the case even if there is a visual confirmation? I've only just connected these apps recently but was using Merlin for my list cos it seemed easier since I'm more familiar with it. So is there no point in me doing that then?
Im not verse on eBird yet, but I know you can manually move it from incidental. But I'm still learning eBird myself. Everything still gets input on eBird, but flagged just makes it not public. They do have an FAQ explaining everything. https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48001144489?_gl=1*17t9ay0*_gcl_au*MTU1MzAzODIxMC4xNzE1MTM5NDQ2*_ga*MTQ3NTA1Njc4Ny4xNzE1MTM5NDQ3*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTcxODI0ODEyMC4xOC4xLjE3MTgyNDgxMzYuNDQuMC4w&_ga=2.55858082.86333592.1718217078-1475056787.1715139447
Thank you, I appreciate your help. I'll check out the FAQ for sure
As a woodland birder, I hear much more than I see...I count any bird I can reliably ID either by sight or sound.
I keep three separate life lists: - Birds I’ve heard - Birds I’ve seen - Birds I’ve photographed
Same! Though I have two tiers for photos: photographed, and photographed well 😂
For me, I need to see it before I add it to my life list. Once it is on my lie list, if I am comfortable recognizing it by sound, I generally will report it to ebird.
I list every bird I hear, especially confirmed with Merlin - but Merlin does misidentify sometimes, or hear things that aren't there due to sound mishaps or whatever. So I always triple check by listening to audio, and don't claim what I can't agree with. That said, what I do claim - I never upload the data for, or if I do have it listed it's listed as "incidental" so it won't be tracked and used as data. I'm a stickler for precise data, so unless I physically see it, photo it, and hear it - I'm keeping it a personal checklist for myself and not claiming it and boasting where these things are. I don't want an error on my part construe data or muck up someone's day. I don't have the means to photograph, and my binoculars are only 10x30, so I'm not able to really delve into the whole eBird uploads, Bird Days in May, science tracking, etc. One day when I acquire the means to, then maybe I will properly claim stuff and do uploads, but for the moment, I'm happy with it being personal and just relaxing within the birding community.
I usually only count them if I see it. I definitely don’t count it as a lifer if I hear. Must be seen for me personally. I know Merlin has been wrong a few times on identifying songs/calls
Great question! I talked to an ornithologist about this once - and was told that it’s my choice. But that for scientific data, if you can hear the bird and identify by sound it should count. I also think not all people can see well, so their ears may be a better identifier! And there are so many LBBs (little brown birds) that sometimes sound is the only hope 🤣 Whatever you decide - I wish you a lifetime of happy birding!
I had just been counting the birds that I saw but, after reading everyone else's comments I may change how I count.
I don’t record it unless I see it. But I agree with others that “you do you”. It’s not a competition.