Bird box with Camera from GardenNature
Last Autumn we decided to buy a bird box with a built-in camera to video any possible future occupants.
Choosing a Bird Box and Camera
After some investigation we settled on this one from GardenNature. The nestbox is really well built from red cedar and the bird box camera is HD quality and transmits wirelessly. The guys there were very helpful and answered all my queries.
The bird box and camera arrived all ready to go and was straightforward to install.
Siting The Birdbox
We chose a position on the house that fulfilled the following criteria:
– On the eastern side so it gets the morning sun
– Has clear flight line in and out
– Is over 4 meters above ground level
– The cat cannot reach it!
The camera is hidden in the roof of the nestbox and requires a power cable (supplied) to reach a nearby mains power socket. The video feed comes out of the nestbox via cable to the digital wireless transmitter which you need to locate close by to the nestbox. You then have a wireless receiver in the house which can plug directly in to a TV.
I wanted to be able to view the picture on a PC, iPad and remotely, so I use a USB Audio and Video Grabber (like this) which allows you to plug the video feed into your PC.
I then use iCatcher Wildlife software to monitor the video feed. This is great as you can set it to automatically record any movement and even notify you by email.
Once we were all set up, we prepared ourselves not to have a bird actually appear in the box for at least a year or two, but as it turns out, we were overly pessimistic. Within a couple of months, blue tits starting popping in and out to check the box out.
Blue Tit in Birdbox – Daytime
.. and then she started to stop over…
Blue Tit in Bird box at Night
… then finally, she began to build a nest..
Blue Tit Nesting
.. further updates to come…