A picture frame that shows the birds heard in the garden today.
We have a solar-powered listener in the garden. A home server identifies the species with BirdNET and draws the day's birds on a branch, in the style of the old bird books. The picture is shown on an e-paper frame on the wall. This page shows what hangs there now, and how it is made.
the outdoor unit in the garden
This is how it hangs on the wall. The birds on the branch are the ones heard that day. Hover over a row in the list to see which bird it is.
The parts
How they fit togetherA small board with a microphone, powered by a solar panel. It wakes after sunrise, records one minute and sends the audio to the server.
Runs BirdNET on the recordings and puts the day's species on a branch, at the right size and with their feet on the wood.
Receives the image over HTTP and draws it on the e-paper. The image stays until the next one arrives, even without power.
A phone in the window takes a picture when something moves at the feeder. The server says which bird it is.
What it looks like
Build log: the parts and how they were put together
The most common birds
The whole library
The branches
The same branch all year. The leaves follow the month.
More about the project
The parts, the data flow and the listening plan. Each part with what it does, why, and where the code is.
The parts list, the power outside and the timeline from July to September.
What was chosen along the way, what was tried, and what was dropped. A section of the build log.