Our Birdbox

[Ne!l]

Having recently bought and put up a birdbox with a camera inside I decided to make a site about it. Hadn't planned on doing a site when we got the box but as we seemed to be getting a lot of interest from a pair of Blue Tits I decided to give it a crack. My aim is to post frequent updates and include video clips and stills from within the box. Hopefully I'll also be able to upload some better pictures of the happy family with my DSLR Camera - if we get a happy family!

This site is for all the people who said "Ohh yes, we've looked at those" when we mentioned our camera birdbox. Amazing how many people "look at them" but never actually buy one! Anyway, here's the link -

Our Birdbox

Any comments welcome!

Cheers,
Neil

P.S. There is a link to WAB on the Links page.

[Jim Ford]

I put a camera in a bird box a few years ago, but took it out after a couple of seasons.

You can't afford to be sentimental about what you see in the box. Our experience is that when the chicks hatch, there always seems to be one that's a little weaker than the others. When a parent arrives with food the chicks strain to be fed, but the weaker one misses out. Over the days the difference in size between the weakling and its sibling becomes very marked, and it's distressing to see it straining to be fed, but being ignored by the parents. After a few days it becomes evident that the weakling has died and been disposed of.

We found that this happening overshadows the pleasure of seeing the chicks being raised.

Jim

[snowdrop]

Ta very much Neil, I enjoyed the vids. Your site is now on my favs.

My weary brain allows me to use this pc, on a very basic level, much less put a nestcam up so you can imagine my interest when a neighbour installed a nestbox directly over his front door. Odd place, I thought.. and then I found out he was using it as a security camera.

[Ne!l]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

I put a camera in a bird box a few years ago, but took it out after a couple of seasons.

We did discuss this topic before we bought the box and we can accept that nature will take its course. Fingers crossed we have a positive outcome!

Originally Posted by snowdrop

Ta very much Neil, I enjoyed the vids. Your site is now on my favs.

My weary brain allows me to use this pc, on a very basic level, much less put a nestcam up so you can imagine my interest when a neighbour installed a nestbox directly over his front door. Odd place, I thought.. and then I found out he was using it as a security camera.

Pleased to hear you enjoyed the videos Snowdrop!

My brain has taken a bit of a hammering during all this nestcam malarkey! Still, it's been worth it in the long run. Using a nestbox for a security camera sounds a bit bonkers. Would it not make more sense to have the camera on display to actually put would-be-burglars off? There is a house in our road with 3 security cameras on the front! Maybe they use them to watch the local foxes?

[snowdrop]

Foxes in blue uniforms more like.....

[Suzybrook]

Thats excellent Neil, i particularly like the video clips w/ sound you have there. I'll be checking your site regularly. I have blue tits starting to build a nest, and similar to your most recent observation, mine too have seemed to not have been so busy building over the last few colder days. I've been thinking about getting one of those nestbox cameras for next year, and have been checking out the RSPB ones they have in their catalogue. 'bout £180 or so last time i looked

thanks for putting a link to your site

[Jim Ford]

If you install Linux e.g. Ubuntu on an old PC and fit a video card, you can use 'Motion' to detect any activity in the box. Motion continuously monitors what the camera sees, and takes images if it detects the scene has changed. It's very useful to check for early morning exploratory visits. The software is all free.

Jim

[Ne!l]

Originally Posted by Suzybrook

Thats excellent Neil, i particularly like the video clips w/ sound you have there. I'll be checking your site regularly. I have blue tits starting to build a nest, and similar to your most recent observation, mine too have seemed to not have been so busy building over the last few colder days. I've been thinking about getting one of those nestbox cameras for next year, and have been checking out the RSPB ones they have in their catalogue. 'bout £180 or so last time i looked

thanks for putting a link to your site

Thank you for the kind words Suzy! It's been great hearing from people who have visited the site. Even people who aren't usually that interested in wildlife have said they will be checking regularly! I'd definitely recommend getting a birdbox with camera. We paid £95 for ours and it has been money well spent so far! Like Jim says, you can use software to capture footage but watching it on your TV would be just as rewarding. The only problem is you might become addicted to watching it!

Fingers crossed for your Blue Tits and Thanks again!

[snowdrop]

I like the excellent picture quality of your cam Neil.

I now know, through your site, how the nest first achieves its circular shape, brill!

Nesting season can be a bit frustrating egg-wise. One Loch of the Lowes osprey has been patiently waiting on the nest for her hubby for 12 days now, causing lots of speculation and nail biting.

[Ne!l]

The picture quality is something I was really keen to get as good as possible Snowdrop. There are probably better cameras out there but my budget did have a limit! I just hope the darn Blue Tit knows how much effort has gone into this and how many people are checking on its progress! I love it really ...

It did actually do a brief "nesting wriggle" today and brought some material into the nest on 1 visit. There had been so little activity over the last few days I was starting to get worried! I did spend a while outside this afternoon with my camera but did anything show up? Of course it didn't! Grrr!