I wanted to build something that combined three things I genuinely enjoy: birding, field-journal illustration, and running things in my homelab.

The result is Inky Bird Frame, an open-source system that turns recent nearby bird observations into rotating scientific field-journal plates on a 13.3-inch six-color e-paper display.

The controller checks iNaturalist for observations within a configurable distance and time window. If an approved plate already exists, it reuses it. A newly discovered species can enter a bounded research, generation, and independent review pipeline. Approved plates are cached and are never regenerated implicitly.

The wall-mounted display node stays deliberately simple. It downloads approved plates from the controller and rotates them using sequential, random, weighted, or shuffle-bag selection. The reference build uses a Pi Zero 2 W for the display and a Pi 4 or existing macOS/Linux computer for the controller.

My actual frame reused a CM4 and Waveshare carrier that I already had. It is overkill for the display role, but it worked well and saved me from buying another computer. I cut the supplied frame backing around the carrier so power, storage, and service access remain available.

The repository includes:

• complete controller and display-node installation guides

• a bill of materials and frame construction photos configurable observation windows, distance, refresh, generation, and rotation

• optional Apprise notifications (I’m using pushover to receive notifications on mine)

• automatic recovery and durable generation queues

• a reviewed, location-neutral bird plate catalog contribution templates so other installations can add approved species back to the shared catalog

This really brightens my day and hope you enjoy.

Source, build guide, and photos: https://github.com/veteranbv/inky-bird-frame