Ever since our dog Bean got bitten by a baby rattlesnake a few months ago (he’s fine now, after a course of antivenin, an overnight hospital stay, and of course a couple thousand dollars in vet bills), he and his sister Lulu have not been allowed outside unsupervised. This situation is likely to continue until rattlesnake season is over, especially given that we subsequently caught Bean investigating another baby rattlesnake, although at least this time he was keeping a healthy (seven feet or so) distance. Of course, this means that when they go out for their morning ablutions, somebody has to go with them, and because I’m the early bird around here, that someone is usually me. And speaking of early birds, lately I’ve been bringing the phone with me and running the Merlin app from Cornell University, because it’s interesting to see what birds have been hanging around. Surely this information is of interest to the cats.
Since the end of May, Merlin has picked up several birds that are rare or unusual for our area, including a Northern Flicker (note that all of these pictures come from Pixabay, as I rarely see the birds Merlin detects, and often don’t even hear them):
And a Blue Grosbeak:
But the other day, it picked up something it never has before:
Yes, that’s an American Robin with the red “Rare” dot next to it. I know they’re all over the place back East, but you just don’t see them around here near the coast in Southern California (although I have seen them up in the mountains).
I mentioned to my wife that Merlin had identified a robin, and she said that was one of the few birds she could identify by its call. The Merlin app has within it recordings of birds from various parts of the country, so I played several different robin calls for her until we got to the one she knew was a robin. Probably not coincidentally, it was a call that had been recorded in New York State.
Wife: “See, I recognize its New York accent.”
Incidentally, I had no idea that the Latin name for the American Robin was Turdus migratorius. I can just imagine the naturalists who named it sniggering like Beavis & Butthead, although, you know, I’m sure they didn’t.
Be sure to tune in next week when I will probably make a “Uranus” joke or something …
Viscosity 
Some birds can mimic other birds I hear, maybe it’s all just one bird having a laugh
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We do have some pretty busy mockingbirds around here … 🤔
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I am so sorry to hear that your dog got bit by a rattle snake but I am glad he is fine now. It is the first time I hear of the Merlin app. It sounds like fun indentifying birds you see and hear.
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It’s a very cool app ― I would never be able to identify all these birds on my own. Half the time I don’t even hear the calls it picks up, especially if I haven’t got my “ears” in!
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The Merlin app is fun to use to see who is hanging around your yard. It’s especially helpful during migration when lots of different birds make stop overs on their way south.
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Yeah, the mix of birds is definitely different (and less varied) now than it was in the spring two months ago!
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WE have Robins here in plenty…they sing so sweetly. How could anyone named them Turdis whatever James??? REALLY?? That was the best the Scientists could come up with??? I will say it made for a VERY catchy title tho’. I can hardly wait for the URaNUS joke!!! I’m already laughing!!!
(((hugs))) BellaSita Mum (Sherri-Ellen) & ***purrss*** BellaDharma
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I may have already made the Uranus joke at the end of this post! 😁 Next week, the punchline!
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That sounds like a cool app to have! I often hear birds and don’t exactly know who I am listening too. We have oodles of birds here, esp in the early spring during migration. There is also a turd(us) bird in Europe, they call it a blackbird but its habits and song are very similar to our American Robin. (And of course in Europe, the robin is entirely a different species. Go figure…)
Turd are us!! BOL!!
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“Fly Robin, fly, up up to the sky.” Far out!
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