In December 2022 I set up a BirdNET-Pi station in my backyard. It runs 24/7 on a Raspberry Pi listening and logging every bird species it hears. It’s one my favorite projects that inspired me to build a physical digital chirp counter to display the data in my home.
The BirdNET-Pi project is great for tech nerds and DIY’ers but it’s not appropriate for the average person due to the complexity of setup and the ongoing maintenance, not to mention the high cost for the Raspberry Pi and other components.
The good news is there have been a few other commercial products in this same bioacoustic ID space being developed in the past year or so, the Haikubox from Loggerhead Instruments being one of them.
I’ve been checking their website regularly and discovered that it is now available for purchase! At the time of writing, they haven’t yet communicated its availability their newsletter list. So you may want to act fast in case they quickly sell out.
This device has been in development for several years, and after a successful beta launch in early 2022 and a limited number of units sold last year, the Haikubox has been redesigned and is now ready for prime time.
The Haikubox is a powerful tool for anyone interested in birding, conservation, or bioacoustics. With its advanced algorithms and sophisticated hardware, it can currently identify bird species in the United States and Canada based on their vocalizations alone (with plans to expand to new regions in the future). This makes it an useful tool for researchers, birdwatchers, and conservationists who want to monitor bird populations, track migration patterns, or simply identify the birds that visit their backyard.
The Haikubox has undergone extensive testing and development over the past few years. The team behind the device has worked hard to address supply chain issues and to make improvements to the design, functionality, and user interface. The result is a device that should be both powerful and easy to use.
I’m excited to say that I will be comparing the Haikubox with two other avian bioacoustic identification devices: the BirdNET-Pi station and the upcoming Birdweather PUC.
Stay tuned for a showdown comparison article between all three of these devices.
Available for $399, it comes with a five-year prepaid membership. If you are interested in purchasing a Haikubox, you can do so now at https://haikubox.com.
