Jessie Barry, one of the leaders of the Merlin project, said: \u201cThe eBird mobile app will soon have the ability to upload recordings, which can be recorded in Merlin. Upcoming feature developments will make an even better link to the eBird systems so that we can use the data from what users \u2018hear\u2019 with Merlin to monitor bird populations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis data helps create tools that can be used to further conservation, inspire support and inform ecological management strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n
At present, the app can identify 2,066 bird species, including most birds in the US, Canada and Europe, and the more common and widespread species in India and across Central and South America.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is always an ongoing project to collect additional species. There\u2019s a few we would like to add but we are always adding more and improving the performance of the models,\u201d said Barry.<\/p>\n
The app has been downloaded more than 40m times in 240 countries, up from 33m downloads as of December last year. Britain has the second highest total number of users, with almost 2 million on the app in May this year. Canada, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands are in the top 10 countries with the highest numbers using the app.<\/p>\n
The Merlin app is cited by some as an opportunity to connect more people to nature and help enhance conservation work. But there are some concerns that the app can misidentify birds, and the European Bird Census Council recommends not using Merlin in official breeding bird surveys. The EBCC has set up a monitoring group to coordinate, align and integrate acoustic bird monitoring across Europe.<\/p>\n Moira Forsyth, a Merlin user who lives in the Muir of Ord in Scotland, said she used the app along with other forms of identification. \u201cWe have been astonished to discover we had a much wider range of birds here than we thought,\u201d she said. \u201cArmed with the app, the RSPB book of Scottish birds, my trusty old copy of Collins Complete British\u00a0Wildlife\u00a0and the binoculars we keep on the kitchen windowsill, we are getting a bit better at this.\u201d<\/p>\n Prof Richard Gregory, of the RSPB, said: \u201cIt is super-positive that it is increasing in popularity and use, and especially to a new, wider and different group of people. Everywhere I go, I see people are using Merlin, connecting with nature and learning their birds, becoming more curious to know more. Fantastic \u2013 a revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory warned, however, that the app still made mistakes in identification and had identified his dachshund as a mallard. \u201cIf you aren\u2019t an expert, you wouldn\u2019t necessarily know there was an error,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is interesting to hear that Cornell is making changes which mean that recordings from Merlin will go to eBird more easily, so that\u2019s great if the species recognition is correct [but] a problem for conservation when it is not.\u201d<\/p>\n Barry said research teams who regularly used these types of data sources would address challenges with the data quality. \u201cOur ability to understand changes in bird populations will be better served with more data to work with than if we don\u2019t collect it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n