I have immensely enjoyed using my BirdNET-Pi bird song listening devices. I have built one for my home, cabin, and several friends. These BirdNET-Pi’s are connected to both the internet and electrical grid, and upload their sound ID’s automatically to BirdWeather, which enables me (and anyone) to remotely monitor both resident and migrating birds:

• Past 365DaysOfBirds blog posts on …
  • Building a BirdNET-Pi
  • Using BirdWeather to Learn …
    • Birds Singing in NE Minnesota
    • Birds Singing Anywhere in the World

My successes with a connected BirdNET-Pi led me to wonder if I could use the unit for research in the field. Although the small Raspberry-Pi computer/box does not have a hard drive, it does have running locally on its microsim card the Raspberry-Pi operating system, the BirdNET-Pi software AND the Cornell Birdnet birdsong database. Thus if I could solve power, date / time issues for the database, AND protect the small computer from the weather everything should work fine.

It took some time, effort, and mistakes, but the answer was YES! I now have a BirdNET-Pi which runs perfectly in the field as a research unit. I tend to run my BirdNET-Pi for four to six hours in any given 24 hour period. I then have the Raspberry-Pi automatically shut off and then turn on the next day (or night). In my case I tend to have the unit run at night during the early morning hours through the first hour after sunrise. In this manner my box captures and records both owls singing/hooting at night and then catches the morning songbird sing.

Here is a photograph of my BirdNET-Pi in its weather proof box. It is hooked up to a 60,000 mAp USB power bank via a USB power switch (24 hour cycle set to turn on and off after 4 or 6 hours of run time), and my USB microphone. I just place the entire box on the ground and hook the lavalier microphone to a tree branch. (This begs the question why don’t I use solar power? Answer: Solar is not only expensive, but needs to be deployed in an open area, which even in remote wilderness like northern Minnesota encourages theft)

• Amazon links (not sponsored)
  • Weather Proof Box
  • USB 60,000 mAp power bank
  • USB Timer Switch
  • RTC Chip (real time clock)
  • Total costs (as of Oct. 2025): $73.91
    • Your cost above a home unit

Pi Power Adjustments

I actually turn off my Raspberry-Pi’s cooling fan (disconnect the pins given cold temperatures in Minnesota), wifi and Bluetooth. This helps conserve power for a remote unit running on a battery in the field. This configuration yields me about 36 hours of run time in the field.

Hardware Pi Modifications

Installing the RTC (real time clock) is simple. This chip, which has a battery and clock, allows your Raspberry-Pi 4b which has neither to always know the correct date and time. This data is then fed to your BirdNET-Pi installation such that every unique sound ID has date and time information for each database entry. There are some minor coding changes covered in the “software pi modifications” section of this post.

Gently push the RTC chip down onto the last / inner row of the computer pins closest to the end of the case. It is likely you will have to remove the pins for your cooling fan, and perhaps move the fan itself. Don’t worry, there are other 3.5 amp and electrical grounding pins for your fan (see this 4b pin mapping diagram).  Your hardware installation is complete.

If you are like me, the location of my cooling fan had to be moved to install the RTC chip. I screwed my fan onto the top cover of the case. It is still easy to connect the fan’s pins through the case’s provided openings. The fan’s case is actually quite sturdy, and your entire unit is protected within your weatherproof box.

Software Pi Modifications

Edit Addition on April 6, 2026: I have discovered that these instructions only work with the older version of the Raspberry-Pi Operating System (Bookworm, not Trixie). I had to rework a recent Pi installation which was running Trixie back to Bookworm. I found “fixes” for the Trixie “hwclock” issues, but could not make those code changes work for me. You may be more successful.

These are the coding and software instructions for installing the RTC chip. BirdNET-Pi normally gets its database time and dates via its network connection, but obviously a remote unit will not be connected to any network. Follow these steps:

1. Via BirdNET-Pi settings, turn off “get time from network”
2. Via Raspberry Pi turn off wifi (and Bluetooth)
3. Shut down your Pi and remove top case cover
4. Install the RTC chip (see hardware section directly above)
5. Reboot your Raspberry Pi
6. Create a terminal window session

Type the code found below. The command shown below brings up the file “boot config.txt” which will be edited by the Raspberry Pi “nano editor” (short Nano tutorial via YouTube)

• sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt
• At the bottom of the config file which is now open, add this code (a comment line):
  • # This is YOUR NAME’s RTC module code
• on the next line type this code
  • dtoverlay=i2c-rtc,ds3231
• Invoke the SAVE Command which is a <ctrl x>
• Accept overwrite for config.txt

Reboot Raspberry Pi and type these 3 commands:

• Create a terminal window session
• Type this code: (note my comments within the parenthesis … “_” or underscores represent “spaces” within your code)
  • sudo_hwclock_-r (shows current time on computer)
  • sudo_hwclock_-w (writes todays time and date to computer)
  • sudo_hwclock_-r (shows current time on computer … did it change??)

If yes … everything is fine. Shut down your Raspberry Pi. Remember to put Pi and BirdNET-Pi back on network time if desired. You may now toggle between using your RTC chip or the network (if connected via wifi or ethernet) for the current time. You also may wish to check the Pi’s time and date again using the commands given above.

In early August 2025, my friend Paul (BirdsGV), was kind enough to help / teach me how to build my own Raspberry Pi birdsong listening station … a small computer which after being built and configured runs BirdNET-Pi (learn more about these birdsong listening stations). Well … Paul has created a monster! I have now built many, many more of these devices. Some of the birdsong devices are fixed in location, and others are mobile which allows the stations to be placed deep in the northern Minnesota wilderness for research purposes.

Even without a BirdNET-Pi, anyone may use the BirdWeather service to research what birds are singing at a desired geographic area (free and no account required). This blog post has screenshots which I took and then annotated from BirdWeather. The images demonstrate the ease of using BirdWeather. I personally used BirdWeather BEFORE my recent trip to Ireland. My goal (achieved) was to learn what species of birds should be the focus of my birding efforts in Ireland’s Skellig Region. In fact, birdsong listening stations listed via BirdWeather may be compiled across both specific regions and custom timelines.

Here in northeastern Minnesota my desire was to bring online BirdNET-Pi stations which were strategically placed either in key habitat or along bird migration highways. Thankfully I have good friends who agreed to let me make the stations I built for them public via BirdWeather. Here are eight stations with a brief description of the bird habitat: (just below this map of where the birdsong listening stations are located)

If you press upon the link to any of these birdsong listening stations, you will be directed to that specific BirdNET-Pi station. BirdWeather always defaults to the last 24 hours of birdsong for any station and the service works much better if you are on a more powerful computer with a larger screen. Smaller mobile devices like phones are challenged by the interface and memory requirementsl

• Amity Creek & Gardens – 800 yards upstream from Lake Superior … Boreal Forest at the edge of an urban area … one mile below Hawk Ridge (Private Land)
• Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center – Boreal Forest lakefront habitat with nearby ponds and wetlands within listening range of the device (a bit north of Duluth). Web Site.
• Chik-Wauk Nature Center – Boreal Forest lakefront habitat with nearby ponds and wetlands within listening range of the device (at the end of Gunflint Trail extremely near to the Canadian border … inland from Grand Marais, Minnesota). Web Site.
• French River Lutheran Church – French River is located on Ryan Road just inland from the big lake and about one mile up the shore and Scenic 61 from McQuade Harbor. The church’s property abuts French River (hiking trails from parking lot to river. The habitat is Boreal pine and cedar forest. The church even maintains public bird feeders every winter … just watch out for pre-school children!
• Mouth of the Sucker River – Boreal Forest at the mouth of the Sucker River about 1/2 way between Duluth and Two Harbors (Private Land)
• Northstar Lake – Boreal Forest on a deep spring-filled lake 30 miles north of Grand Rapids. The lake is the most southern lake of the Hudson Bay Watershed (Private Land)
• Sax-Zim Bog on Kelsey Whiteface Road – Boreal Forest very near the Whiteface River about 1 mile south of Arkola Road and in a few hundred yards from Highway 7 and Kelsey-Whiteface Roads (Private Land)
• Sax-Zim Bog on Owl Avenue (Welcome Center) – The Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center is located on Boreal forest bog habitat. Web Site.

Note: The Sax-Zim Bog BirdNET-Pi Listening Stations and Research Project is sponsored by the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog. The project is dedicated to, and in memoriam of my dear friend and birding buddy, Pastor Greg Garmer. In addition to my financial donation to the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog, I have committed to building their stations (permanent and field research) and teaching the staff how to build, configure / use the Raspberry Pi stations.

Geographically these birdsong listening stations allow one to understand what birds are singing “on location” in northern Minnesota, but also learn how the spring and fall migrations are progressing.

Remember … these BirdWeather BirdNET-Pi Stations (or any station) allow you to customize your desired time period. BirdWeather stations are found THROUGHOUT world.

Changing the desired timeframe for a specific BirdWeather BirdNET-Pi Station.

You will know your result is only ONE station if the url ends with a unique station number … in my case 16143

Amity Creek & Gardens BirdNET-Pi via Birdweather

In this example “the key” is to select the “layers icon” both at the beginning and end of your “personal configuration”. Press / click upon any image to maximize.

BirdWeather works INFINITELY better when using a desktop or laptop computer. On tablets or phones the process is difficult. After selecting your data time periods, give the service a moment or two to update!

Here are two examples which assume you, the reader, want to bird a given area. For the sake of this exercise let’s assume next summer you want to visit either Alaska (Fairbanks area) or Nova Scotia. Using Birdweather one would select custom dates for the timeframe one year prior to your Summer 2026 visit! Navigate the calendars and select your dates. Notice how you are getting multiple BirdNET-Pi’s and PUCs. Thus, your data, if enough stations are selected, should be EXTREMELY accurate on what birds would be likely to be present next summer. BirdWeather will adjust your results based upon the actual active birdsong listening stations for a given timeframe.

Fairbanks Area (timeframe selected is in July 2025)

Nova Scotia (timeframe selected is in May 2025)

Here is one final example … let’s assume you would like to visit the Black Hills within a few days of today (October 10th when I was authoring this post).

1. Browse to the BirdWeather’s Map of the USA
2. Zoom in and out to find the Black Hills (or Ireland, or Costa Rice, etc)
3. Try NOT to click upon any birdsong station while navigating. Birdweather will try to quickly give you that station’s data.
4. As these regions are large, with a HUGE number of stations, the bird data will be constantly updating.

Black Hills, South Dakota (most recent week of data)

Hopefully you made it down to the bottom of this post. VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. You are actually able to listen to the birds … the actual sound recording(s) made by that specific / unique bird. In my example, the screenshots are for Amy, my Great Horned Owl which was hooting last night! You may also learn:

• the time distribution of the identifications
• more about the bird species via Wikipedia.

Amy! A Lovely Lady Who Hoots in the Night near Amity Creek!

End of Post

In a recent post a visitor to both my YouTube Channel and this web site asked a very reasonable question:

“Why don’t you (i.e me) allow comments on your YouTube Channel?”

This is an EXTREMELY reasonable question. Here was my answer, and how it pertains to protecting children …

That is a great question. I do not allow comments on my YouTube Channel because I have personally certified to Google / YouTube that my channel is “child friendly”. Google in turn does not then allow comments on such a “certified channel” because unfortunately there are some nasty people in this world who write bad stuff. My YouTube channel is found via many “child friendly’ search engines. In addition I allow free downloads of my owl children’s books from my web site, and my images are utilized in various elementary text books. Hopefully you see the pattern of my actions. I wish I could allow comments via YouTube, but Unfortunately our world is not perfect.

Following up on the same frame of thought … notice how I do NOT take advertising, sponsors or any kind of pay for this web site. It has been my pleasure over the past 12 years to serve up safe, not commercial content about birding … and thus it shall continue. I am a FAILURE as a paid influencer!