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I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

jasontucker.blog

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Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#82
post #10

I did exactly this with BirdNet-Go and my Unifi doorbell cam. Unifi exposes an RTSP feed for each camera so it was easy for the tool to just "listen" to the doorbell and start classifying. I have a spare e-ink display and my next weekend project to follow onto this is to wire it up so it shows some faux "woodcut" images of birds detected, or something like that.

I did something similar with my BirdNET + e-ink screen, it's pulling images from wikipedia, dithering and rendering a summary with PIL.

https://i.imgur.com/5XbM6bb.png

Also if anyone is interested, here is the server for the e-ink screen https://github.com/koryk/inky-impression-server

and here is a MCP for birdnet that I've been using for a bit https://github.com/koryk/birdnetpi-mcp-local-server

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#83
I’ve been working on a similar project for the last few weeks in spare time.

I’m using a AudioMoth USB mic so I can capture extremely high sample rate and also ultrasonic for bat detections.

https://github.com/simonjgreen/OpenObservatory

Disclaimer: I’m also using this to see how far I can push supervised pure AI coding before it turns to mega slop, so know that before you dive in with the disparaging comments :D

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#84
post #82
post #10

I did exactly this with BirdNet-Go and my Unifi doorbell cam. Unifi exposes an RTSP feed for each camera so it was easy for the tool to just "listen" to the doorbell and start classifying. I have a spare e-ink display and my next weekend project to follow onto this is to wire it up so it shows some faux "woodcut" images of birds detected, or something like that.

I did something similar with my BirdNET + e-ink screen, it's pulling images from wikipedia, dithering and rendering a summary with PIL. https://i.imgur.com/5XbM6bb.png Also if anyone is interested, here is the server for the e-ink screen https://github.com/koryk/inky-impression-server and here is a MCP for birdnet that I've been using for a bit https://github.com/koryk/birdnetpi-mcp-local-server

Love your eink example! You’ve just sent me on a parts shopping trip :)

I’ve been unhappy with my little lcd board I’ve been using for the same here https://github.com/simonjgreen/OpenObservatory as the contrast is bad. I was considering using one of my trmnl displays, but it isn’t quite the right operating model for the frequency of updates I want.

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#86
Thanks - this post reminded me to enter some sightings from yesterday into eBird (yes, another Cornell Lab birding app). A pair of rainbow bee eaters that I hadn't seen in the area before.

Came to say birdnet is fantastic but, at least in Australia, it regularly identifies calls with low probability (which are often wrong / skewed for location, but sometimes correct). Meaning you still need some wits about you. That said, it can correctly identify multiple birds in a single chorus which is cool. Just need to keep an eye out for those false positives.

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#87
I love AI. Thank you for such great software, anybody can do it now! Just like making videos, songs, pictures, stories, etc. What a great time to be alive! Oh, and F China for trying to sabotage our data center buildouts by leveraging useful idiots.

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#88

I love AI. Thank you for such great software, anybody can do it now! Just like making videos, songs, pictures, stories, etc. What a great time to be alive! Oh, and F China for trying to sabotage our data center buildouts by leveraging useful idiots.

Ot to rain on your parade. But I made videos, songs and pictures, wrote stories back in ca. 2006 when I was 16 and read my first AI book. Without AI.

I see AI as a useful tool, but doing art with it is extremely bland compared to the real thing. I can't eben begin to describe what people who let the machine do the art miss out on.

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I don't love it either, but it's better than the alternative of Peace President(tm) -- famous for strokes of genius such as "can't we just shoot [the protestors] in the legs"; asking the military to "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs; and the masterful decision to deny Iran nuclear weapons by withdrawing from the JCPOA and joining Israel in waging an illegitimate war. Edit: Wow that's insane that yo…

It sounds like a "both sides" argument, which should indeed be flagged early and often. It's not, though.

I'd still vote for her over the alternative the Republicans chose to offer to us (and did so). It was the only responsible thing to do.

Re: I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

#90

I run BirdNET-Go as an app on my Home Assistant i7 M710q. I use the GPU-enabled BirdNET model and Perch V2, and it works swimmingly. Input is three RTSP streams from various Reolink PoE cameras around our house, and it is pretty cool to be able to find and listen to the birds/frogs that come.

I have a situation with a couple of hundred chimney swifts. I want to set-up cameras to differentiate between individual swifts. Any advice on how to go about this. My current plan is to put multiple cameras at the mouth of the chimney opening which is about 42"x42"(1mx1m). Does this sound realistic to anyone with experience?

There's a growing literature on individual animal identification from sound!

Here's one example: https://github.com/sammlapp/ovenbird-individual-recognition

My impression is that the hardest part is knowing whether or not you're actually doing a good job. For vocal learners (like the ovenbird example linked above), it seems to be pretty easy using embeddings from existing models (like perch or birdnet). For non-learning species (possibly including your swifts), you can use timbre clues to differentiate many individuals, but may not be able to really nail down individual identity.

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