Nest box camera

SQUINTING WINDO

Has anyone out there a NestBox Cam that they have online for the 2010 nesting season . I have one myself (not online) and am wondering when the Blue Tit begin to build .

Judgement Day

Blue Tits usually breed from April to July but will probably be checking out good nesting sites already. You're probably just as likely to get a Great Tit or a Coal Tit in your box. Remember to face your nestbox to the East out of the prevailing wind and rain, and the heat of the afternoon sun. Some helpful info here: http://www.dt4u.com/dtsystems/birdbox.php
I have been meaning to get one of these boxes with a built in camera for a while now and this could be the year - any suggestions where to buy a good one at a realistic price? The RSPB have one for 99 sterling plus p+p and Birdwatch Ireland have one for €130 but Lidl and Aldi usually get them in for less than half that.

SQUINTING WINDO

Bought mine 2 years ago in ALDI €49.99 Bird roosted in it for the first Winter , the bird cleaned it out itself last season 09 ,but did not come back to build nest . I have already had some activity this year and am hoping for sucess !

Half-cocked

Blue Tits are checking out my nest boxes for the last 2 weeks. Fingers crossed!

Judgement Day

SQUINTING WINDO wrote: »

Bought mine 2 years ago in ALDI €49.99 Bird roosted in it for the first Winter , the bird cleaned it out itself last season 09 ,but did not come back to build nest . I have already had some activity this year and am hoping for sucess !

Have Aldi had the nestboxes in this year? How did you find the picture quality?

SQUINTING WINDO

Aldi did have them about 2 months ago , not there now (at least in my area) Tese are self assembly ,the camera can be focused and rotated for max image. Colour although not perfect is fine and the infrared night images are quite sharp , the mic pick up is superb and in fact can act as security for youself as it picks up the slighest noise ,yuo can enjoy the full Dawn Chours .BUT all to no avail if you do not have a lodger!

jmkennedyie

ALDI/LIDL (can't remember which) got their camera from these guys. http://www.homenetproducts.co.uk/index.asp. Might sell direct if you phone them...

The camera hooks into SCART. They sell extra cable (6 core - 20m) and also DVR.

Judgement Day

jmkennedyie wrote: »

ALDI/LIDL (can't remember which) got their camera from these guys. http://www.homenetproducts.co.uk/index.asp. Might sell direct if you phone them...

The camera hooks into SCART. They sell extra cable (6 core - 20m) and also DVR.

Thanks for that but on checking their site I think that a private purchase is not an option.

E39MSport

It's not too late.

I have a camera installed in one of my nestboxes that I got from fleabay for 8 pounds.

I have it hooked up direct to TV via RCA.

I'm about to hook it up to my house server in the attic via a USB video converter and 20m of RCA which I purchased yesterday for 20 Eur all in.

I only have a 1 Mb line with about 128 upload so I cannot effectively broadcast the image - sorry. I would share if I could.

My solution for all my ip cameras plus this new analog one is to use teamviewer. That way, I can log on to the server from the internet and view all my ip cams (plus recorded images) and hopefully the new nestcam. I'll use some windows sw to record.

Nice and cheap. Teamviewer uses compression so it's just about usable.

I have a female bluetit at the moment who is visiting daily and pecking at the entry hole and the walls and floor. I think she's ready to start building soon.

Can't wait.

doctor evil

How do you tell the difference between a male and female Blue tit?

gaz wac

Its a pity that company dont sell to the public, its perfect. Knew i should have bought one when they were on sale anywhere else sell them...?

Half-cocked

gaz wac wrote: »

Its a pity that company dont sell to the public, its perfect. Knew i should have bought one when they were on sale anywhere else sell them...?

You can build your own quite easily, buy a 6IR wired camera and whatever length cable you need on ebay. Avoid the wireless cameras, they're usually crap. Build a box out of 6" x 3/4" white deal and protect the outside with a water based preservative. Plenty of designs available online, just google it. My homemade efforts cost about €15 each and work just as well as the commercial ones. Good Luck!

gaz wac

Half-cocked wrote: »

buy a 6IR wired camera and whatever length cable you need on ebay. !

And thats where the problems start i dont know anything about wires or cameras..or even e-bay ha. building it would be no problem, its the tech part im usless at. Any basic packages you can buy? thanks

p.s is it too late for this year ?

E39MSport

doctor evil wrote: »

How do you tell the difference between a male and female Blue tit?

She's wearing a little dress ;-)

Apparently, it's the female that displays the pecking, wing fluttering behaviour in the nest box so I'm assuming it's the female.

SQUINTING WINDO

Best of luck! No movement here for a few days , but weather bad maybe thats the reason.

Half-cocked

gaz wac wrote: »

And thats where the problems start i dont know anything about wires or cameras..or even e-bay ha. building it would be no problem, its the tech part im usless at. Any basic packages you can buy? thanks

p.s is it too late for this year ?

You can buy from places like http://www.handykam.com/ in the UK but I find they are all rather expensive - around ST£50 for a camera setup you could put together yourself for less than half the cost. They are good quality products though.

E39MSport

gaz wac wrote: »

And thats where the problems start i dont know anything about wires or cameras..or even e-bay ha. building it would be no problem, its the tech part im usless at. Any basic packages you can buy? thanks

p.s is it too late for this year ?

Not too late afaik.

Here's an ebay link to similar setup to what I have put together

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEST-BOX-WITH-COLOUR-CAMERA-PLUS-PC-LAPTOP-CONNECTION_W0QQitemZ250594012254QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_Garden_Plants_Bird_Bath_Feeder_CV?hash=item3a58912c5e

Not the cheapest but they deliver to Ireland. I checked birdwatch Ireland and they have one for 130 but you'll find it probably comes from the UK anyway.

Judgement Day

gaz wac wrote: »

And thats where the problems start i dont know anything about wires or cameras..or even e-bay ha. building it would be no problem, its the tech part im usless at. Any basic packages you can buy? thanks

p.s is it too late for this year ?

Couldn't have put it better myself - when it comes to scart plugs, wires and cameras.....aghhh! Can you imagine what the result would be, the Blue Tit would be just settling down to incubate and then would get electrocuted or worse. I'll keep searching for the ready made item.

gaz wac

E39MSport wrote: »

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEST-BOX-WITH-COLOUR-CAMERA-PLUS-PC-LAPTOP-CONNECTION_W0QQitemZ250594012254QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_Garden_Plants_Bird_Bath_Feeder_CV?hash=item3a58912c5e

QUOTE]

In fairness, just say £80, which would be €90...so not too bad, concidering the Irish site is €130 and that one is not a colour camera! My biggest problem now, is telling Mrs Wac im spending €100 on a bird box

E39MSport

Just be aware that the nest box may be dark most of the time and so depending on the quality of the lens and other hardware, the image might be black and white for the most part (in IR mode).

Good luck with it. You'll love it !!!

edit: - not being condescending here but pay attention to where you position it. http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Advice/FAQ/GardenBirdFAQ/tabid/368/Default.aspx

SQUINTING WINDO

E39MSport wrote: »

She's wearing a little dress ;-)

Apparently, it's the female that displays the pecking, wing fluttering behaviour in the nest box so I'm assuming it's the female.

I read somewhere that the bird circles around the base of the box with outstreched wings , once it can turn around with her wings out the box is "big enough" to build in .

E39MSport

SQUINTING WINDO wrote: »

I read somewhere that the bird circles around the base of the box with outstreched wings , once it can turn around with her wings out the box is "big enough" to build in .

There's been a bit of that alright but there wouldn't be much more room to swing the proverbial cat.

Here's some interesting stuff I came acorss yesterday. There may be a live cam on there somewhere. Some nice pics there.

www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/Nestcam07.htm

gaz wac

yea, i was actually wondering that ( about the light ) as seen as the only light coming in is from the small entrance hole. !! do you have a good pix with your homemade version? how would I know if the camera is good on that e-bay site you listed? do they have grades, pixels or somthing that you can compare?

E39MSport

Here's the spec of the one I bought.
* Video System : Pal/Ntsc
* Imaging Sensor : 1/3-Inch CMOS, A Class
* Effective Pixels : (PAL) 628 x 582
* Resolution 380 TV lines
* Min. Illumination : 0.2Lux
* Camera Voltage : 6V-9V DC
* Power Consumption: 200mW
* Size : 25x35x15mm
* Audio output function
It's near identical to the one in the linked nestbox above. One thing I had to do was loosely cover the LEDs so that the light bounces off the covering tape thus lessening the effect of the LED brightness.
Mine cost less than a tenner.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CMOS-Color-Spy-Security-Camera-Wired-w-6-IR-Led-Power_W0QQitemZ270538898441QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CCTV?hash=item3efd5ffc09

On both, at .2 lux, the IR lights kick in and turn the image BW. You could mod it so that some natural light gets in by way of a small slot etc.

Here's Mr or Mrs in the box earlier checking out the camera. It's taken with a phone pointing at my old crt tv screen (which has decided that everything should now look agreen).

gaz wac

Ok, so talking to my mate and he has a paypal account and im fairly sure i could build a nest box, no problem so im going to have a go at it !! :eek:

Sorry to be a pain E39MS but could you list out what you bought? like I see the camera link but what is that attached to ( is it the long long cable? ), does the three coloured plugs go into the wire? then is there a scart at the end which you plug into your tv?

Cant see your pix in work, but dying to go home to see it

Thanks again

E39MSport

Here you go. Everything I got is in this kit. Instructions incl. Ships to Ireland. Positive feedback.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DELUX-BIRD-NEST-BOX-CAMERA-KIT-WITH-SOUND-NIGHT-VISION_W0QQitemZ300401016121QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Toys_Creative_Educational_RL?hash=item45f14bbd39

All you need then is the box. Get a cheap one free from preservatives etc and take it apart.

If you want to hook it up to a PC then you'll need this: -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0011N9QNC/ref=oss_product

Hope this helps. Best of luck with it. Let me know if you need more help.

gaz wac

Thanks a million I will learn how to upload pix and ill show you's how i get on.

eekkkk all nervous now, hope they are not to fussy about my workmanship....( from a bloke who cant hammer a nail in straight ) :eek:

doctor evil

E39MSport wrote: »

She's wearing a little dress ;-)

A dress is not very practical.

Half-cocked

gaz wac wrote: »

Thanks a million I will learn how to upload pix and ill show you's how i get on.

eekkkk all nervous now, hope they are not to fussy about my workmanship....( from a bloke who cant hammer a nail in straight ) :eek:

Just make sure water can't run down inside the box. Glue/staple a strip of rubber over where the lid meets the back of the box. Once it stays dry inside, the birds won't be too fussy.

gaz wac

Was looking at a site and they had resin glass / plastic on the roof and sides ( small windows, you might say ) to let more light in so you get a clearer pix for the camera, what your views? out of direct sunlight and all that..?

E39MSport

This is what bwi have to say: -

"It is important to put the nestbox up well before nesting season, as many birds begin their search for nest sites in February. Make sure to position your box well: ideally, fix it two to five metres high on a wall, fence, or tree trunk, where predators (including cuts and squirrels) can’t reach it. Do not nail the box to a tree, but use wire or a strap. Unless the site is very sheltered, the box should face between north and south-east to avoid hot sun and the west winds."

Not sure about the window tbh. You could get a standard one for the camera to give you a higher chance of success and perhaps get the window one and see if any birds are drawn to it and if so whack a camera in it for next year.

Best to get cracking asap though.

Half-cocked

Yes, I cut windows about 36mm diameter on each side of my boxes, same level as the entrance hole, and used thin white plastic sheets to cover them. It lets enough light in to get a clear colour image from the camera. You could probably use plastic cut from milk cartons. So long as it's not clear, the birds won't like that. As you say, don't put it up in direct sunlight, a north-easterly facing surface is best. There's some good info here:

http://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org.uk/wildlife-habitats/wildlife-information-advice/bird-nest-boxes

Build your box with a bit extra ceiling space above the entrance hole to accomodate the camera and you're laughing. Then it's just a matter of hoping the birds move in!

E39MSport

Half-cocked wrote: »

Yes, I cut windows about 36mm diameter on each side of my boxes, same level as the entrance hole, and used thin white plastic sheets to cover them. It lets enough light in to get a clear colour image from the camera. You could probably use plastic cut from milk cartons. So long as it's not clear, the birds won't like that. As you say, don't put it up in direct sunlight, a north-easterly facing surface is best. There's some good info here:

http://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org.uk/wildlife-habitats/wildlife-information-advice/bird-nest-boxes

Build your box with a bit extra ceiling space above the entrance hole to accomodate the camera and you're laughing. Then it's just a matter of hoping the birds move in!

Thats good to know about the windows. I might give that a go today and hope it doesn't put them off.
EDIT: - So, I put the window in using opaque plastic. Got it all wired up (btw, signal loss/interference over the 20m rca was bad so reverted back to shorter high quality cable).

Birds came back a short time ago and ll was well until one of them pecked at the plastic. It made a loud drumming noise. Scarpered and haven't been back since.
Hope they come back.

SQUINTING WINDO

After about a week my Blue Tits (a pair) came to my box this morning ,there was some "wing measuring"and a bit of screeching and then off they wentfor the day.Im hoping they are still interested in being my neighbour .Ours is a unique situation as I have the box wired through to my (grocery) shop and as we and our customers had a false start last year ,we are waiting with excitment this season.[/SIZE]

E39MSport

They were back this morning !!

SQUINTING WINDO

Mine seem to have a 9 oclock+ start ,nothing yet this morning.

E39MSport

gaz wac wrote: »

E39MSport...any sign of the birds?

yup, they're back thankfully. Not bothered with the change.

btw, I just copped that the camera lens has manual focus. Made a huge difference to picture quality. Just waiting now for my usb video tool.
I found a piece of freeware called vide camera server which I think will let me connect to the host PC on a specific port and view the images as mpeg.
Then I will be able to access the PC from the internet after I change my firewall rules.

gaz wac

ehem..ok ( all over my head )

good to see them back im going to make my box tommrow, ordered your camera yesterday so hopefully will be up and running by thursday or friday next week. Will prob be too late but sure at least ill have it ready. If its too late for tits, I wonder if anything else would like a new home ?

edit: between manual focus and new window, you must be getting a great view!!

SQUINTING WINDO

Anyone have any signs of nest building in their nest box yet.
I have had two visits to our box today with one of the tits perching with its head out the entry hole for more than 2 mins .

E39MSport

Nothing yet in terms of building. My camera is under attack though !

gaz wac

Well, built my nest box on Saturday....took me about four hours . One thing I have learned is that I cant saw or screw, straight !! looks grand so just waiting for the camera now. Quick question, do you attach the camera to the panel with the entrance, the roof or the back? Im thinking up over the entrance? was looking on line for any 2010 web cams and one bloke has one every year, the 2010 camera was set up but they havent started building in it yet.

E39MSport

Congrats !

I have camera at the back wall opposite and above the entrance hole. Check out the picture on bwi. That location is easiest for wiring whereby the wire comes out one of the top rear corners of the box. The mic will more than like be incorporated into the camera wiring so make sure you leave it inside the box.

gaz wac

Trying to upload a pix...give me a while !!



yayyyyy :-) first time ever !!!

that blue thing holding the front up is a free pedometer I got from the Freebie section yesterday ha
Have two "windows" on either side to let more light in.twigs are for decoration ;-)

SQUINTING WINDO

What will this cold spell do to the nesting cycle ?
Gaz Wac can you give me link details to the person that you found with the box up and running .

gaz wac

I cant see web cams in work so ill get address when im at home. but i litteraly just typed " blue tit web cam 2010 " into google and found it that way.

SQUINTING WINDO

Ok , ill do that.

MegaBirdman007

SQUINTING WINDO wrote: »

Anyone have any signs of nest building in their nest box yet.
I have had two visits to our box today with one of the tits perching with its head out the entry hole for more than 2 mins .

Blue tits have completed a nest in my camera nestbox. Great tits are building in another box.

E39MSport

My 'camera' box is coming along nicely. Nest looks about 75%. The birds have had a right go at the camera though. It's off centre now and they removed the duck tape from the IR lights making it very bright now.

I recieved my USB video catcher in the post and downloaded some free software called vcamserver. The software takes the captured video feed and serves it as an IP based service as jpeg images presented at fixed intervals (not true video but this is a good solution for my poor bandwidth). I have it hooked up to a netbook and leave it on when I am away. Now I can see the nest over the internet when I am away by PC or even on my iPhone.

(was great until the PC downloaded some updates and restarted itself - so I missed the start of the nest while I was away - auto downloads turned off ;-)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Sounds brilliant. I'm a bit of a Luddite I'm afraid - well not really a Luddite more a Troglodyte in that I don't object to technology at all it's just I'm being dragged screaming into the 20th centuary (I know this is the 21st and I'll catch up to the rest of the world sometime). I just don't follow a lot of techno stuff. Marvellous to watch the nest from a remote site. I have to hide in the garden or behind reeds in the bog, or in a hide below the Buzzards nest to get good views and then miss what is really going on at close quarters in the nests themselves. Good for you and enjoy the watching.:)

Half-cocked

If you want to watch a sea eagle nesting go to the site below and click the 4th link down on the right (Merikotkakaamera)

http://www.eenet.ee/EENet/

There's also links to wild boar being fed.

E39MSport

Half-cocked wrote: »

If you want to watch a sea eagle nesting go to the site below and click the 4th link down on the right (Merikotkakaamera)

http://www.eenet.ee/EENet/

There's also links to wild boar being fed.

Good Stuff - thanks !

edit: - direct link to the caera : - mms://tv.eenet.ee/kotkas