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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
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?
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
October 9, 2022

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
August 17, 2022

Always check that speck
August 15, 2022

4 Reasons to Learn to Bird by Ear
August 14, 2022

Birds you’ll see birding in the Corpus Christi marina
August 6, 2022

How to get people interested in birdwatching
August 5, 2022

Birding at Crescent Bend Nature Park
July 24, 2022

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
July 17, 2022

Using a shotgun mic with an iPhone to record birds
July 17, 2022

Thousands of Purple Martins swarm and roost in Austin, Texas
July 17, 2022

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
May 21, 2022

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
May 18, 2022

Practicing as a birding guide at Pearsall Park
May 15, 2022

Migratory Bird Fest 2022 at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center
May 14, 2022

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
May 9, 2022

Painted Buntings and Nesting Scissor-tailed Flycatchers
May 1, 2022

Bird Lover Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
April 27, 2022

Recording and photographing birds at the same time
August 9, 2021

Setting up bird feeders in my backyard
August 6, 2021

Finding a Yellow-billed Cuckoo while birding at Pearsall Park
August 3, 2021

Learning to photograph birds on Manual with Canon R6
August 1, 2021

Birding with the Canon R6
August 1, 2021

Identify bird songs using your phone with Merlin
August 1, 2021

Visualize bird songs with spectrograms
September 19, 2020

Find birds on the go with new features in the eBird app
September 18, 2020

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
September 16, 2020

Birding is the perfect pandemic hobby
September 15, 2020

Casual Birding - For those short on time
September 14, 2020

Counting birds during lunch at Woodlawn Lake
March 15, 2020

Another Day, Another Thrasher
March 10, 2020

A Thrasher that thrashes but does not speak
March 4, 2020

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
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
March 1, 2020

A Lunchtime Birding Trip around Denman Park
February 28, 2020

The Ultimate Digital Birding Toolkit
February 26, 2020

Non-obvious Tips to Help Identify Birds
February 24, 2020
My first time recording birds with a shotgun microphone
February 23, 2020

What is that ugly duck at the park called?
February 16, 2020

Transitioning from Photographing to Recording Birds
February 3, 2020

QUIZ: What Kind of Owl Are You?
January 29, 2020 — by Jeff Mann

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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