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Because Birds is a birding website ran by Jeff Mann since 2013.


Browse through my posts about birding, birdsong recording, photography, technology, travel, and more.

Bird Banding in Denver

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…

QUIZ: What kind of parrot are you?

QUIZ: What kind of parrot are you?

October 20, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

There are many beautiful species of parrots in the world. Which one are you? Take this quiz and find out!

The song of the Loggerhead Shrike

The song of the Loggerhead Shrike

October 9, 2022

Plausible Analytics iOS widget for top pages using Scriptable

Plausible Analytics iOS widget for top pages using Scriptable

October 7, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

Scriptable is a nifty iOS app which lets you use scripts to create iOS widgets to feature on your home screen. Inspired by the Scriptable iOS widget…

How to Start a Bird Blog

How to Start a Bird Blog

August 17, 2022

Always check that speck

Always check that speck

August 15, 2022

4 Reasons to Learn to Bird by Ear

4 Reasons to Learn to Bird by Ear

August 14, 2022

Birds you’ll see birding in the Corpus Christi marina

Birds you’ll see birding in the Corpus Christi marina

August 6, 2022

How to get people interested in birdwatching

How to get people interested in birdwatching

August 5, 2022

Birding at Crescent Bend Nature Park

Birding at Crescent Bend Nature Park

July 24, 2022

Analyzing fun bird song spectrograms

Analyzing fun bird song spectrograms

July 20, 2022

Listening to bird songs and watching their spectrograms is a great way to become a better birder. I try to record new species at every opportunity.…

eBird Trip Reports - Summarize your birding adventures

eBird Trip Reports - Summarize your birding adventures

July 17, 2022

Using a shotgun mic with an iPhone to record birds

Using a shotgun mic with an iPhone to record birds

July 17, 2022

Thousands of Purple Martins swarm and roost in Austin, Texas

Thousands of Purple Martins swarm and roost in Austin, Texas

July 17, 2022

Birding in Cancun & Chichen Itza

Birding in Cancun & Chichen Itza

July 10, 2022

Last weekend I traveled to Cancun, Mexico for a short stay over the Fourth of July. Traveling as a birder is always exciting because of the chance to…

Leading a bird walk at Pearsall Park with Bexar Audubon Society

Leading a bird walk at Pearsall Park with Bexar Audubon Society

May 21, 2022

How to edit bird song recordings

How to edit bird song recordings

May 18, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

You've captured a few recordings of birds on your phone or recording equipment and now you want to edit them to keep or upload to eBird . What is the…

Birding in Boerne

Birding in Boerne

May 18, 2022

Practicing as a birding guide at Pearsall Park

Practicing as a birding guide at Pearsall Park

May 15, 2022

Migratory Bird Fest 2022 at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center

Migratory Bird Fest 2022 at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center

May 14, 2022

Leaving behind Google Analytics for open-source Plausible

Leaving behind Google Analytics for open-source Plausible

May 12, 2022 — by Jeff Mann

I value data privacy and less-invasive website tracking practices. For years, this website has used Google Analytics to measure and understand…

Tanagers & Parulas at Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne, Texas

Tanagers & Parulas at Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne, Texas

May 9, 2022

Painted Buntings and Nesting Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

Painted Buntings and Nesting Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

May 1, 2022

Bird Lover Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Bird Lover Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

April 27, 2022

Recording and photographing birds at the same time

Recording and photographing birds at the same time

August 9, 2021

Setting up bird feeders in my backyard

Setting up bird feeders in my backyard

August 6, 2021

Finding a Yellow-billed Cuckoo while birding at Pearsall Park

Finding a Yellow-billed Cuckoo while birding at Pearsall Park

August 3, 2021

Learning to photograph birds on Manual with Canon R6

Learning to photograph birds on Manual with Canon R6

August 1, 2021

Birding with the Canon R6

Birding with the Canon R6

August 1, 2021

Identify bird songs using your phone with Merlin

Identify bird songs using your phone with Merlin

August 1, 2021

Visualize bird songs with spectrograms

Visualize bird songs with spectrograms

September 19, 2020

Find birds on the go with new features in the eBird app

Find birds on the go with new features in the eBird app

September 18, 2020

Identify birds with your phone camera

Identify birds with your phone camera

September 18, 2020 — by Jeff Mann

Birders these days have many tools at their disposal to help identify birds they see. Field guides, apps, other birders, and more. Today we will look…

My Gear Setup: Birdsong Recording

My Gear Setup: Birdsong Recording

September 16, 2020

Birding is the perfect pandemic hobby

Birding is the perfect pandemic hobby

September 15, 2020

Casual Birding - For those short on time

Casual Birding - For those short on time

September 14, 2020

Counting birds during lunch at Woodlawn Lake

Counting birds during lunch at Woodlawn Lake

March 15, 2020

Another Day, Another Thrasher

Another Day, Another Thrasher

March 10, 2020

A Thrasher that thrashes but does not speak

A Thrasher that thrashes but does not speak

March 4, 2020

The Best Birding Spots in San Antonio

The Best Birding Spots in San Antonio

March 3, 2020 — by Jeff Mann

Central Texas has a rich diversity of wildlife and many birds to see. The best places to see birds in San Antonio are: Mitchell Lake Braunig Lake…

Two familiars and one unknown

Two familiars and one unknown

March 2, 2020 — by Jeff Mann

During a recent trip to the park, I got the chance to record three birds, the Blue Jay and the White-winged Dove, and one unknown bird. This mystery…

Birding with Bexar Audubon at Walker Ranch Park

Birding with Bexar Audubon at Walker Ranch Park

March 1, 2020

A Lunchtime Birding Trip around Denman Park

A Lunchtime Birding Trip around Denman Park

February 28, 2020

The Ultimate Digital Birding Toolkit

The Ultimate Digital Birding Toolkit

February 26, 2020

Non-obvious Tips to Help Identify Birds

Non-obvious Tips to Help Identify Birds

February 24, 2020

My first time recording birds with a shotgun microphone

My first time recording birds with a shotgun microphone

February 23, 2020

What is that ugly duck at the park called?

What is that ugly duck at the park called?

February 16, 2020

Transitioning from Photographing to Recording Birds

Transitioning from Photographing to Recording Birds

February 3, 2020

QUIZ: What Kind of Owl Are You?

QUIZ: What Kind of Owl Are You?

January 29, 2020 — by Jeff Mann

Birding in the New Orleans Bayou

Birding in the New Orleans Bayou

April 17, 2019 — by Jeff Mann

A few weekends ago Mubark and I took our first trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. I prepared for the trip as I usually do: researching eBird hot spots,…

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