u/richardhoeg

This document reviews how I set set up a BirdNET-Pi running remotely in the field via a 60,000 mAh USB Power Bank, and communicating sound ID's using email via a Cellular USB Dongle.

Edit to original post: I have now shifted away from running crontab. Both Raspberry-Pi and BirdNET-Pi consumed too much power "at idle". Instead I am using an inexpensive USB timer switch set to "six hours". Unfortunately that requires I "hook everything up" at midnight which starts the "six hour run", but this shuts everything down completely at 6 am each day ... Raspberry-Pi, BirdNET-Pi and my Cellular USB dongle (hooked up to my Pi box). Better yet the USB dongle hooked up directly to my Pi box is perceived at a wired Ethernet connection. Thus, I am able to now turn off my Raspberry-Pi wifi connection and limit this power drain.

Original post continues ...

• Raspberry PI 4b Running Bookworm Graphical 64 bit Interface
  • Bluetooth turned off
  • Cooling Fan disconnected and off
  • Raspberry-Pi Connect installed and activated
  • RTC (Real Time Clock) chip installed and activated

You will find instructions on how to install and code a Real Time Clock on this page of my website:

https://www.365daysofbirds.com/2025/10/22/running-birdnet-pi-off-grid-very-remote/

• Program the Raspberry Pi to only run only a certain number of hours per day. The key is to code two crontab statements from the Raspberry Pi Linux prompt which tell the start and stop times for BirdNET-Pi operations (key for limiting power consumption ... I normally run for 4 to 6 hours starting well before sunrise to capture and ID owls, and then right up till sunrise to ID songbirds)
• Whenever I place this system in the field, upon arriving home I remotely login to the Raspberry-Pi computer and turn off BirdNET-Pi. The system will then start up automatically based upon my saved crontab code. Here is the code I use to stop BirdNET-Pi from trying to ID sounds:

cd ~/BirdNET-Pi/scripts/ && ./stop_core_services.sh

• Here is my crontab code: (starts system at 1 am, and stops system at 7 am)

0 01 * * * cd ~/BirdNET-Pi/scripts/ && ./restart_services.sh

0 07 * * * cd ~/BirdNET-Pi/scripts/ && ./stop_core_services.sh

DO NOT trust my code! It works for me, but your Raspberry Pi & BirdNET-Pi system may be configured differently. However my code will ensure you are in the "right ballpark".

• Via Bird-NET Pi settings have the BirdNET-Pi notify via Apprise eMail for only a few selected birds. I tend to select and notify for about 5 species of owls and 6 species of songbirds. I use my GMail account which is easy to use with Apprise notifications
• I do NOT notify for other species of birds, or upload ID's to BridWeather.Com. This would eat up to much power and data communications.
• For communications I use an EIOTClub USB Dongle and EIOT's minimum monthly data level (5gb for $15)
• My Raspberry Pi is connected to the EIOTClub USB's WiFi network
• Both my Raspberry-Pi and EIOTClub Dongle are powered by a 60,000 USB mAh power bank

Most mornings I connect remotely to my BirdNET-Pi and review all the birds which have been ID'd recently ... most species do NOT having notifications sent to me via email. My system is still "new in the field" and I am still tweaking runtime, but it appears the Pi will run about 7 days. My system is protected against the weather by a small plastic electrical box.

I also am running a more robust off the grid BirdNET-Pi via solar array, but that system is much, much more expensive. It is installed at the Hawk Ridge Field Research Station (Duluth, Minnesota) which is a major spring and fall migration spot at the western end of Lake Superior.

I have two Birdnet-Pi's deployed within 50 yards of each other, but which get rather dramatic different bird ID's. However I do not believe either box is wrong in their birdsong identifications. Both Pi boxes are 100% identical in terms of both hardware and Pi configurations. From a setup vantage point both boxes require a confidence level of 75%, and listen for 18 seconds with zero overlap ... thus 6 snippets of sound per file.

There are some HUGE differences between the two systems aside from 50 yards between the microphones:

• Amity is near my prairie grass and has a much more "open" sound corridor to the stream across the road which is about 125 yards distant
• Greenwood is only a few yards from the forest edge, and within 5 yards of my nearest of three birdfeeders
• In general, my basic habitat is Boreal forest, and my home is about 800 yards uphill from Lake Superior. I live on the northern edge of Duluth right where forest meets town.

Anyhow, I have provided both images of yesterday's ID's as placement of your BirdNET-Pi microphone makes a big difference. For instance, my Amity Pi box picks up both my local Great Horned Owls and Belted Kingfishers much more often than my Greenwood Pi box. If I only used my Greenwood Pi Box I might think both my owls and kingfishers are rarely around, which is definitely not true. In summary, give significant thought to birding habitat in terms of Pi box placement.

Since June I have been working upon an "off the grid" BirdNET-Pi project for Hawk Ridge. In case you are not familiar with the "Ridge", it stands 600 feet above Lake Superior at Gitchi Gammi's western end, and is a premier bird migration spot both in the spring and fall. While the location is fantastic for birds, the Ridge has zero power, and may only be reached in the winter on foot via a long hike through snow that gets very deep ... as in feet. Oh yes, did I mention that in January it is not unusual for overnight lows to reach -20F and colder. Thus, Installation of a Pi listening box was a bit challenging.

Anyhow, our Pi is now up and running with its ID's automatically uploaded to BirdWeather. Some of my learnings have included

• Installing a low power cellular modem (wifi turned off to conserve power) which is hooked up directly to our Pi box directly via ethernet (it's wifi is also turned off). The router / cellular modem is "industrial strength" in terms of known to work outside in extreme operating conditions
• Getting power from solar arrays, but also getting the arrays off the ground, but not too high up. One wants snow to both blow off and through the "grid/mesh" table. However, putting arrays on taller towers would open them to 80+ mph winds coming off Lake Superior and being pushed up the hill. I know from weather service reports that winds down in the harbor are clocked at these velocities and higher on the tops of bridges ... and winds increase in speed as they go up hills.
• Optimizing when the birdsong listening station is "turned off". Via Linux commands in "crontab" we run our Pi throughout the day except between 10 am and 6 pm. This allows Hawk Ridge to monitor overnight birdcalls including owls, the "morning sing", the "evening sing" and songbird migration movement till 10 am. Via Raspberry-Pi Connect I may adjust these times easily as sunrise and sunset change throughout the year. At present in Duluth, Minnesota sunrise is at about 6:05 am and sunset is at 8:18 pm. If power consumption during the winter months and solar array recharging allows, we will increase operational hours. The system uses an Ankor Solix C1000 and 200 watt solar arrays.

If you want to read more about this project, here is my online report ...

https://www.365daysofbirds.com/2026/08/04/hawk-ridge-bird-song-listening-station-birdnet-pi-off-the-grid/

Here is the link to our BirdNET-Pi via BirdWeather ...

https://app.birdweather.com/stations/28008

The Hawk Ridge Pi station is offline for some final configurations. I anticipate it coming back up Tuesday, August 18th in the evening.

In fact over the past 12 months I have built and installed Pi listening stations throughout NE Minnesota including both the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Chik-Wauk Nature Center at the end of the Gunflint Trail and within a few hundred yards of our border with Canada ...

https://www.365daysofbirds.com/2025/10/10/what-birds-are-singing-where-you-are-flying-or-driving-walking-etc/

Sometimes you don't want a close-up of the owl! Photo taken just before sunset yesterday evening in the South Dakota Buffalo Gap National Grasslands with Badlands National Park in the background. You should be able to find the Burrowing Owl and the Jackrabbit.

As a fyi, I am a naturalist based in northern Minnesota. If you want to view more images from last nights sunset on the prairie, browse to my 100% non commercial website which has zero ads or sponsored content. Here is the post