BirdNET-Pi-Installation
Pre-install suggestions
If you are going to use your system on a wireless network, have your credentials available before you start the installation - the install asks for them, so you can access the Pi headlessly without jumping through hoops later to configure it.
I also set up a guest network on my router specifically for the Pi. This helps when testing the Access Point because I can disable that network without affecting the rest of the network - other than having to reboot the router occasionally.
Install the OS
Download the imager first HERE
Insert the sd card into pc/laptop to start the process.
This installation guide from the BirdNET-Pi wiki worked surprisingly well.
I installed Raspberry PI OS (Legacy) because I wanted a desktop environment for a PIJuice hat. On the second of my re-installs I used the lite version but then had to install a desktop GUI so I just used the legacy from then on. There is a CLI for the PiJuice hat, but I didn’t have the patience left to get into that. There’s more about the PiJuice in the Power Mangement post.
I was installing on an RPI 4 with 8GB of ram so the extra resources required by the gui weren’t going to be a problem. I’d have installed the Lite version otherwise.