Bird ID - iPhone to the rescue.

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James C. said:
Merlin's "Photo ID" also asks for the date. I assume it is checking against migration times that could influence its suggestions.
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Yes, Merlin uses the date and I agree that it most likely uses the date (along with location) to reference migration patterns. But usually I do not have to input the date, as Merlin seems to take it from the photo information. I do not normally tag my photos with GPS location. If I did, perhaps Merlin could read that too.

I'm not sure whether Merlin or iBird Pro is more accurate on Photo ID. I often use both on difficult subjects. As far as I can tell, iBird Pro does not take location into account, which often may be valuable information. Merlin is also broader in coverage. If I recall, iBird Pro is limited to North America. Not sure if I will continue with iBird Pro once my one-time purchase lapses and a subscription is required.
 
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Ralph said:
While I’m sure your method is much better at recording than the iPhone alone, I’ve been very impressed at how well the iPhone records bird songs with its built in mic. When there are several birds singing at once it had no problem isolating each.
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I have free software 'audacity' to convert to WAV, trim and clear out all the noise recorded on my Iphone 13. works great. Kent Fiala has a great youtube tutorial on how to use it for bird recordings if you are interested.
 
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I've used Google Lens to ID birds and flowers, plants, animals and insects for a few years on my iPhone/iPad. Select the photo you want to ID and then the share icon, scroll down to "Search with Google Lens." It very accurate if you have a decent photo. Downside is you need internet access. I have also used iNaturalist in the same manner and you can set the location where you are shooting to further refine the ID, iNaturalist shares your ID and data, a companion app Seek does the same but keeps your photo ID on your device.
 
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BillW said:
Yes, Merlin uses the date and I agree that it most likely uses the date (along with location) to reference migration patterns. But usually I do not have to input the date, as Merlin seems to take it from the photo information. I do not normally tag my photos with GPS location. If I did, perhaps Merlin could read that too.

I'm not sure whether Merlin or iBird Pro is more accurate on Photo ID. I often use both on difficult subjects. As far as I can tell, iBird Pro does not take location into account, which often may be valuable information. Merlin is also broader in coverage. If I recall, iBird Pro is limited to North America. Not sure if I will continue with iBird Pro once my one-time purchase lapses and a subscription is required.
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I'm not sure now, but I think iBirdPro used to offer (as in-app purchases) packs for different parts of the world. So, theoretically, you COULD have ID capabilities for birds across the entire planet.
 
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@Garam Masala - Hmm interesting. Apple says do this. Here was my discovery for the MAC. If the picture is in the cloud and it's showing you a thumbnail this won't work. So click edit and then done and it should download and then will work. Let me know how this goes. I assume the same applies to the iPhone.
 
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Garam Masala said:
I have just updated my iMac to MacOS 13 (Ventura). Where in Photos do I find this feature?
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If you want to see the plant and/or bird identifier function in the "Photos" app on your Mac, try this:

  1. Double-click the photo to enlarge it.
  2. In the Photos button bar in the top-right of the window, click on the "i" in the circle with the two stars. (This is the "Get Info" button. You can also (still) right-click on the photo and choose "Get info" from the pop-up menu that appears.)
  3. Once you've selected "Get info," you will notice that there will be a small white circle with a black bird icon appearing over the bird in question in the photo. Click on the icon. Give it a few seconds and a pop-up identification of the bird should appear.

Some caveats:

1) Misidentification rates are fairly high. I've noticed that if the bird is in silhouette, it will probably misidentify the bird. (e.g., A photo that I have of an American Crow in-flight it said was a "Swan." In another case, a Great Egret in-flight was identified as a "Mute Swan." And a "Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was identified as a "Bald Eagle.")
2) If the bird is far away in your shot, it may not even put the little "bird" icon on the bird. In my experience, the bird has to be fairly prominent in the image for the software to realize that it's a bird in the picture.


It will also try to identify plants that appear prominently in your photo. Since I don't know anything about plants, I can't say how accurate its identification may be.

Give it a try.
 
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