Tag Archives: Birding Know How

40,000 Bird Songs from Northern Minnesota!

Year 13
This morning I achieved 40,000 birdsong sound ID’s made and recorded since my little Raspberry-Pi birdsong listening computer went live last August. The number would be even higher if I did not configure my computer differently than the standard install:
  • Force the confidence for an I.D. to be 75% rather than the standard 70% used by the Cornell Merlin App and BirdNET-Pi. 2)
  • Require the computer to wait 2 minutes before I.D.’ing the same bird species.

Regardless, it has been very fun to learn more about the birds singing in my yard, and give/build/install similar listening systems at many of NE Minnesota’s Nature Centers. I have also built listening stations for many friends, and also have five systems I modified for placement off the grid in the wilderness. Learn more!

The post directly linked above explains how I brought a listening station to Costa Rica this past winter. I discovered via my listening station that Elegant Trogon’s lived in an area I liked to bird, which then led me on a quest to both see and photograph the Elegant Trogon!

Your host (Rich Hoeg) interviewed on NPR about birds!

Year 11,

Well heck, what do you think National Public Radio would talk to me about, frogs?! As past readers know, I have been building small computers, BirdNET-Pi’s, which combine my techie knowledge with my love of birds. I donate both my time and the cost of the computers / birdsong listening devices to Northeastern Minnesota Nature Centers. I then combine that effort with my birding knowledge to help with research.

The NPR show, Here and Now, decided to interview a number of us (not just me) about our efforts to perform bird research, preserve habitat and help with the fight against global warming. The Here and Now episode is titled, “This Fairyland Bog is a Beacon for Winter Birding, and a Sponge for the Climate”. You may listen to the piece, or read the transcript! The correspondent, even focused upon how I became interested in birds as a young child. Quoting Chris Bentley interviewing me: “I’m a retired techie, and I had always been intrigued with birds here in northern Minnesota,” Hoeg said. “When I was a young child, I lived next to a forest, and I was allowed to go traipsing around the forest by myself and just had to be home by suppertime.”

Anyhow … your options:

As an aside, I could myself not listen when the episode first broadcast nationwide last week. Minnesota Public Radio has a program, Minnesota Now, which plays on my local MPR station instead of the NPR feed. Uff dah. So much for telling friends and family to “tune in”.

Winter Birding Golf Attire!

Year 13

Sounds like a crazy post title, doesn’t it?! Has Rich (your host) lost his rocker? Definitely not! As we start the month of March here in the Northland temperatures often soar into the 40’s by afternoon, but crash well below freezing at night, which means ICE! My yard still has lots of snow, and given Duluth’s location on a hill along Lake Superior, the Forest trails are dangerous. However, at the same time we are experiencing lots of bright, sunny days.

The end result is winter birding golf attire:

  • A golf visor to protect against the sun’s glare but still allowing a person to wear a stocking cap for warmth. Cold ears are no fun. Please note I do NOT wear sunglasses while birding. The polarizing features of sunglasses make it more difficult to spot and ID birds.
  • Cleats! Golfers wear cleats. Birders who want a grip on icy trails should follow their example. See my photographs, and links. There are cleats that will pull over your trails shoes or boots. Remember to order cleats where the rubber straps are large enough to fit over your winter walking attire.

My Nike Golf Visor! Swoosh. Should I became a paid influencer? Not.

My “cleats” Due North Ice Cleats

While this post’s tone is playful, the ability to see well and avoid slipping during the “ice birding season” is a matter of safety. In addition given the owl courting season is now upon us, I am often hiking at night in the dark. I also wear a headlamp.