The Merlin Bird ID app allows users to feed real-time bird identification information into one of the world’s largest citizen science biodiversity projects, which is expected to help protect birds at risk.
Since 2021, the free Merlin app, created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, uses machine learning to provide near-instantaneous sound identification of bird calls, along with images of each identified bird. In the future, human-recorded bird sightings will be automatically collected into eBird, a global online database containing more than 2 billion bird sightings.
According to the British Ornithological Society, the total number of bird species in the UK has declined by more than 70 million birds over the past 50 years. The Guardian has created an audio soundscape that recreates the abundance of bird songs that the public would have heard in 1976 compared to today.
In May this year, around 2 million people in the UK used Merlin to identify birds in their gardens, woodlands and countryside. The calls of different birds create distinct patterns on the spectrogram, and merlins are trained to recognize the shapes and attribute them to species.
Cornell University also operates the eBird platform, created in 2002 to collect information on millions of bird sightings from citizen scientists, creating one of the largest environmental science platforms in the world.
Jessie Barry, one of the leaders of the Merlin project, said: “The eBird mobile app will soon have the ability to upload recordings that can be recorded with Merlin. Future feature developments will further strengthen the link with the eBird system, allowing users to use data ‘heard’ with Merlin for bird population monitoring.
“This data will help create tools that can be used to further advance conservation, encourage support, and inform ecological management strategies.”
Currently, the app can identify 2,066 species of birds. This includes most birds from the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as species that are more common and widespread in India and Central and South America.
“Collecting additional species is always an ongoing project. There are several species we would like to add, but we are always adding to them to improve the performance of the model,” Barry said.
The app has been downloaded more than 40 million times in 240 countries, up from 33 million as of December last year. The UK has the second highest number of total users, with around 2 million people using the app in May this year. Canada, Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands are among the top 10 countries with the most users of the app.
The Merlin app is cited by some as an opportunity to connect more people with nature and strengthen conservation efforts. However, there are concerns that the app may incorrectly identify birds, and the European Bird Census Council has recommended against using Merlin for official breeding bird surveys. The EBCC has established a monitoring group to coordinate, coordinate and integrate bird acoustic monitoring across Europe.
Merlin user Moira Forsyth, from Muir, Ord, Scotland, said she used the app along with other forms of identification. “We were surprised to discover that there was a much wider range of birds here than we thought,” she said. “We are slowly getting better at this using apps, the RSPB Birds of Scotland book, my trusty old book Collins Complete British Wildlife, and binoculars that I keep on my kitchen windowsill.”
Professor Richard Gregory from the RSPB said: “It’s very positive that the popularity and use of the Merlin is increasing, especially as it’s spreading to newer, wider and different groups of people. Everywhere I go I see people using Merlin, connecting with nature, learning about birds and having a curiosity to find out more. It’s amazing, it’s a revolution.”
However, Mr Gregory warned that the app still made identification errors, identifying his dachshund as a mallard. “If you weren’t an expert, you wouldn’t necessarily know there was a mistake,” he says. “It’s interesting to hear that Cornell University is making changes that will mean recordings from merlins can be sent to eBird more easily. It would be great if the species recognition is correct.” [but] Otherwise, it becomes a problem for conservation. ”
Barry said research teams that regularly use this type of data source will address challenges around data quality. “Our ability to understand changes in bird populations can be better leveraged by collecting more data than by collecting no data at all.”
