“Merlin for Me”
<p>Like all birders, I am driven by a desire to practice bird identification to the best of my ability. I’m no Martin Garner, and my birding career has seen its fair share of absolute howlers, but in the grand scheme of things I consider myself to be a <em>reasonably</em> competent bird identifier. Partly for this reason, I frequently respond to bird identification queries online, most commonly through the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/293262340822234/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=2067439653404485" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">UK bird identification group</a> on Facebook. The group’s premise is simple: members post photos (or sometimes sound recordings) of birds they have encountered but cannot identify, and ask other members of the group to help them out. For the most part, being a member of said group is a pleasurable experience: it is a rare space where my pedantry about bird identification is an asset rather than a source of cringe. And most of the time the group works well: members’ queries are usually answered efficiently and correctly.</p>
<p><a href="https://jmdean1982.medium.com/merlin-for-me-9291931f3b4c"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>