# AvianVisitors e-ink frame

*The last 24h of birds, framed on the wall by your window.*

A [Pimoroni Inky Impression 13.3"](https://amzn.to/4xlAWr3) (Spectra 6) mirroring the live collage. A Pi screenshots the site, mats it onto an A5 opening, and pushes to the panel, refreshing only when the birds change. Build one of your own at [theodore.net/projects/AvianVisitors#frame-ous](https://theodore.net/projects/AvianVisitors/#frame-ous).

![](https://theodore.net/assets/images/AvianVisitors/final.jpg)

---

### BOM

| Qty | Description | Price | Link |
|-----|-------------|-------|------|
| 1 | Raspberry Pi Zero (2) W | ~$35 | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49Xp58I) |
| 1 | 13.3" E Ink Display     | $299.99 | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4xlAWr3) |
| 1 | A4 Wood Photo Frame    | $21.99 | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3RWFbJE) |
| 1 | Long, Flat Micro USB Cable    | $7.99 | [Amazon](https://a.co/d/0a59rKSk) |
| 1 | Flat USB Brick    | $7.59 | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3S4CtSs) |
| | **Total** | **~$372** | | |

CAD + 3d print files can be found in [`hardware/`](hardware/).

### Kits

I offer the frame and the bird mic as separate electronics kits. I put up a store for some of my open-source projects and will soon be able to offer kits cheaper than buying all the components individually, once I start buying in bulk.

- [Frame kit](https://theodore.net/store/avian-visitors/)
- [Bird mic kit](https://theodore.net/store/avian-mic/)

---

## 1. Flash the SD card

Flash an sd card with Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit) via [Raspberry Pi Imager](https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/). In the customisation dialog set:

- Username
- WiFi SSID + password
- Hostname: `birdpic`
- Enable SSH with password auth

Then install in Pi and power up.

## 2. Run the installer

```bash
ssh <your-username>@birdpic.local
git clone https://github.com/Twarner491/AvianVisitors
cd AvianVisitors/frame
```

Pick how the frame gets its birds:

```bash
# Pair with your bird mic on the same network (birdnet.local). The default.
./install.sh

# No microphone: draw the collage from BirdWeather for any ZIP code.
./install.sh --bird-weather --zip 94107

# Bird mic hosted at a public URL: point the frame straight at it.
./install.sh --image-url https://bird.onethreenine.net/frame.png?k=YOUR_FRAME_KEY
```

Each one enables SPI + I2C, installs the deps and a systemd timer, writes `~/.birdframe/config.toml`, and reboots once to bring SPI up. Full options live in [`config.example.toml`](config.example.toml).

BirdWeather mode renders on the Pi from this repo's illustrations on GitHub, so there is no image set to copy over. ZIP codes with no station nearby fall back to the closest ones, and an optional `EBIRD_API_KEY` covers the most remote spots.