Recently I was looking for a way to record some long distance sounds, and thought of a solution for Listening post observation posts.  I discovered  an old Dish Network or Direct TV dish will work fine with a microphone mounted to it.

Using a UHF or N type bulkhead RF connector mounted to the point where the old  antenna LNB was mounted I drilled a hole large enough on the front of the antenna mount with a step drill for the base of the  RF connector, and 1/8th holes for the flange mount of the connector, and mounted it with 4-40 hardware.  Using a standard PA  system microphone mount, and screwing  it on to the RF connector and then placing the  microphone to the dish focal point. allows for a bit more forward gain, and a bit more directional capability.

I found a small audio mixer for a single or multiple microphone setup works fine, Musicians Friend.com has these small mixers for as little as about seventy five dollars. They can be connected to a set of earphones, and or a recording device like a cassette tape recorder, or MP3 recorder.  There are several brands that are low cost, I bought a Baringer model for my setup. I prefer microphones with standard XLR PA system connectors and standard microphone cables to keep things simple and standardized.
 
I must caution there are laws protecting your neighbors privacy and those laws should be obeyed. I do believe in a situation where there may be threatening times and being able to hear threats sooner than later would be very beneficial.