All Posts

The best birdwatching in Orlando - Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

May 18, 2026 — by Jeff Mann

Orlando, Florida is great for birdwatching thanks to lots of water, plant life, and great weather. I researched the most popular birding hotspots and…

Birdwatching in London – The birds I saw and heard

May 16, 2026 — by Jeff Mann

I recently visited London with my huge microphone and camera to see what birds I could find. The last time I visited was in 2004 and it rained every…

This Christmas I framed 50 mini bird photos and sent them to loved ones

December 25, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

I have watched and photographed birds for fun for the last ten years. I took 45,000 photos, observed 440 species, and made countless memories. For…

5 splurge gift ideas for someone who loves birds more than you

December 2, 2024

100 Bird Songs & Counting: My First 7 Months with a Parabolic Mic

November 25, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

Earlier this year, I dove into the world of recording with parabolas when a Pro Mono Parabolic microphone from Wildtronics landed on my porch in a…

Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder PRO Review - Plus 2 Years with the Original

November 8, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

Jump to: example pics | hardware compare | plastic feeder, two years later Bird Buddy recently announced the second version of their camera module,…

Birding at Night

August 17, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

Like most birders, I go birding in the morning. The day is new and birds are looking for food, water, and romance. But what happens when the sun goes…

poll: which bird is the most brat?

July 24, 2024

Thousands of Purple Martins form a daily 'birdnado' in Texas as they stage for 2024 fall migration

July 23, 2024

Louder, closer, clearer: Recording birds with a parabolic microphone

April 29, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

My first parabolic microphone recently arrived in the mail. I took it for a spin the past few weekends to see how it felt to use and how it sounded…

See a bird, report a bird on Global Big Day 2024

April 18, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

Birders, mark your calendars for May 11, 2024 ! Global Big Day is a chance to join a worldwide celebration of the birds around us. Whether you’re a…

REVIEW: BirdWeather PUC - A data-rich continuous portable bird detector

March 11, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

Birdwatchers love lists. Most birders I know actively use eBird to track the "life list" of birds they've seen. Tools to identify birds by sound like…

Premium Smart Bird Feeder Showdown: Birdfy Bamboo vs. Bird Buddy

February 17, 2024 — by Jeff Mann

Since late 2022, I've used s everal smart bird feeders and this review will compare two premium choices, Bird Buddy and the new Birdfy Bamboo . After…

Spotting the rare Cattle Tyrant bird in Corpus Christi, Texas

November 18, 2023

Survey of the Lesser Goldfinch for Audubon Climate Watch 2023

May 29, 2023

Bird auto-ID showdown: comparing bioacoustic monitoring stations

May 12, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

Bird identification through bioacoustic monitoring is an exciting field with numerous technological advancements. In this comparison showdown, we'll…

Haikubox bird ID station review: Elevate your backyard birdwatching experience

May 12, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

Birdwatching is a popular hobby that allows people to connect with nature and appreciate the beauty of birds. With advancements in technology, bird…

Create an iOS Scriptable widget to show backyard bird visitors

May 11, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

In this tutorial, I will explain how to create an iOS Scriptable widget that displays the bird visitors in your backyard. By combining data from a…

Global Big Day 2023: A celebration of birds and biodiversity

May 10, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

Every year, bird enthusiasts and nature lovers from all around the world eagerly participate in an event known as Global Big Day . This event,…

Birding in new locations: A comprehensive guide

May 10, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

Going birdwatching somewhere new can be intimidating. Here are a few tips to make the most out of your experience when exploring new areas. Contents…

Haikubox: The new avian bioacoustic identification station is now available

May 8, 2023

Celebrating 10 years of birding adventures: A look back at Because Birds

May 7, 2023

From robins to falcons: Testing AI's ability to render realistic birds in various positions

May 4, 2023

New Merlin Sound ID update: playback highlighting and iCloud backup

May 3, 2023

Birdwatching in Greece: A guide to notable birds in Athens and Santorini

May 2, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

If you are lucky, you may spend your whole vacation discovering new birds, otherwise you must fit birdwatching into any free time in your travel…

Smart Feeder Showdown: A Comparison of AUXCO and Bird Buddy

March 22, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

I've been a big fan of the Bird Buddy smart bird feeder since I received it in late November 2022 (see my original review). It's been a solid smart…

Introducing my personal birdwatching wiki, birding.wiki

March 21, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

In 2022, I toyed with the idea of creating a wiki-like experience to organize and document anything related to birds and my hobby of birdwatching.…

Young birdwatcher gear guide

March 5, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

Birdwatching is a wonderful hobby that allows us to connect with nature, observe beautiful creatures, and learn about the diversity of the world…

Create a live BirdNET-Pi dashboard using WordPress

February 25, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

A leaderboard for bird chirps In the footer of this website you'll see a live leaderboard of the birds chirping in my backyard. These detections are…

Orientation for the Golden-Cheeked Warbler survey

February 19, 2023

Choke Canyon birding festival

February 15, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

This morning, a few friends and I made the hour drive away from San Antonio to visit Choke Canyon State Park for their Birding Festival. We've never…

Project: Track backyard birds on a digital counter

February 13, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

I've been going deep down the BirdNET-Pi rabbit hole over the last month. A BirdNET-Pi setup uses a Raspberry Pi computer and microphone to listen,…

Book review: Oh, Chickadee

February 13, 2023

The challenges of recording birds

January 20, 2023

Event: Free San Antonio Bird Walk - Pleasanton Trailhead 11/21/32

January 20, 2023

A rare visitor at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center

January 8, 2023

Recording birds with the MixPre-3 II

January 1, 2023 — by Jeff Mann

I recently upgraded from the Zoom H4N to the Sound Devices MixPre-3 II recorder in my birdsong gear setup . This post is from the casual hobbyist…

Recording birds at Medina River Natural Area and Greenway

December 29, 2022

Fun Raspberry Pi project: Identify backyard birds 24/7

December 28, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

This year, I learned about a project called BirdNET-Pi which, when installed, turns your Raspberry Pi into a 24/7 monitoring station. This station…

REVIEW: New smart bird feeder with a camera and sleek app | Bird Buddy

December 6, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

Bird enthusiasts from all over came together and crowdfunded a new bird feeder with a camera inside called Bird Buddy . It had an extremely…

2022 Holiday Gift Ideas for Bird Lovers

December 3, 2022

How to remove noise from bird photos

November 11, 2022

Birding at Brackenridge Park - Avenue A

November 6, 2022

Birding at Medina River in San Antonio

November 6, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

Mixing new birding locations in with your regular spots keeps your adventures interesting. Today was that day for me. I used the eBird app to find…

My personal bird Pokédex

November 5, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

Besides my eBird lists and my general blog posts, I've been wanting to create something like a wiki or Pokédex to create entries for birds I see.…

Birding at twilight

November 5, 2022

Getting into the hobby of birding

November 1, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

This blog post is a guide with links to different resources and posts to help you get started with birdwatching. Contents Tools and resources…

My Gear Setup for Bird Photography

October 29, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

I spent my first nine years as a hobby photographer with my original Canon camera setup, a Rebel T5i and EF 400mm lens. Earlier this year I upgraded…

A visit to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado

October 24, 2022

Bird Banding in Denver

October 24, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

The morning after landing in Denver, Colorado, I woke up early and headed out to visit Barr Lake . I used eBird to locate this lake as a good spot to…