Cree and I love to photograph birds, and we are always looking for ways to help us locate interesting birds. If you are into bird photography, then you should get the Merlin bird ID app. This app was created by the folks at Cornell University and it is incredible. The phone app uses bird calls to identify what is around you, so you know what birds might be possible to photograph.
Here is how it works. First, you have to download the app and set up an account. Once you have done this, the screen above is what you will see when you open the app.
Next, just hit the green Sound button and your phone will start listening to bird calls nearby, displaying a sonogram of the sounds it hears. It is amazing how many calls your phone will hear and Merlin will identify. Honestly, I don’t even hear many of the calls that Merlin picks up! But sure enough those birds are nearby, you just have to find them.
Recently we were in interior Alaska searching for Arctic Warblers, an Alaska specialty bird that prefers tundra for habitat. Using Merlin along a gravel road, the app quickly listed an Arctic Warbler singing nearby. Sure enough we found many of these warblers in the willows along the road.
Merlin also identified a Blackpoll Warbler. This high pitched call is very hard to hear, but Merlin indicated a Blackpoll nearby. After a few minutes of searching, we found the Blackpoll warbler. Merlin will help any bird photographer!