Bird box camera

Here are a couple of photos one without led light illuminated

and this one with led light illuminated

Well there is certainly an improvement

Hi David,

Thanks for replying to these questions of mine. I've blanked off the light like you suggested and the picture quality deteriorates quite considerably even though it's still colour. I knew the wifi camera from Green Feathers wouldn't work with the system I've already got, I was talking about one of their basic cameras.

Regarding the led light, if that could be connected through the power supplied to the camera, that would be great, but like yourself, is that going to put them off from starting to build. So like yourself, it would be better to turn on when they have chicks. Looking at your two images you posted, you can certainly see a difference.

I've attached an image of the quality I'm getting now but it looks like I need to refocus the lens.

I'm getting a bit obsessed with getting everything right to watch these birds. You will see from the image that the nest box is home made  Thanks again.

Alan

Hi Alan
Picture quality looks good to me but if you want a belt and bracers approach then buy and fit a light and you then have the choice of opening the window or turning on the led light.

When I first had birds nesting in my camera box, to be honest I was not bothered about picture colour quality so long as I finally had birds in the box and the camera was reasonably in focus. The real fascination is witnessing nest building, laying of eggs and feeding the young. I was astounded to see the adults eat the broken egg shells and the young would actually wait for a parent to enter the box and turn around to excrete their droppings for the parent to pick up and dispose of! At the time of nest building there was quite a battle between Blue Tit and a House Sparrow thet kept perching on the box and at one stage entered it.

The focus of your camera looks ok to me, it is difficult to judge because once the nest is built the eggs and young will be closer to the camera lens. I got my wife to just waggle her finger through the entrance hole so that I could check her finger was in focus which it was.

Nothing better than home made boxes, you get a lot of satisfaction from making them, my first ones had entrance holes in the side rather than the front, I don't know why but it was a template from a bird book.

About 15 years ago I made an owl box from an old pallet and almost gave myself a hernia hauling it up a tree outside our bedroom window. The first few years we had red squirrels in it and our cat loved to climb the tree and sit in it. We finally had Tawny Owls in it and what a noise they made, not just the well known hooting and screetching but a loud purring noise which I have never seen mentioned in books. We had many a sleepless night but the following year the tree had to be felled because of elm disease and the owl box perished with the tree ... and we didn;t get divorced!

Hi David,

I agree with what you've said about the enjoyment of just watching the birds from start to finish no matter what the quality. Probably I'm being a bit too particular,

Regarding the lens being out of focus, I'd already thought about what you mentioned with the distance being different when and if the nest is built, so I'll leave it for the time being.

It sounds like live amongst a woodland area with being able to have an owl box just outside your window.

Again, thanks for finding the time to reply.

Alan

The boxes with camera I use are from green feathers. The IP cameras link to your router and can be seen remotely by an app on your phone called XMEYE.

Yes, after a bit of work I now have the video on phone, tablet and PC, the only problem has been getting it on the TV but that's probably a setting somewhere on the TV. I have also managed to share it with a friend, which was easily accomplished.

What has puzzled me is in my original box, where I changed the camera, there had been a Blue Tit roosting over night and had actually brought in nesting material for additional warmth and insulation. When I put up one of the new side view camera boxes, the Blue Tit switched to the new box for overnight roosting. Yesterday I observed a Blue Tit going in and out of the original box and assumed it must be beginning to build a nest. However, when I checked the camera it had actually cleared to box of all the nesting material? I have never come across that before?
David

So I have visitors! Great Tits I think!

Have you taken any photos?

I have a lovely video but it won’t upload here for some reason!