Thursday 15 October 2009

New Nest Box

What I had really gone to see the other day when I visited Woodthorpe Hall Garden Centre was their selection of nest boxes. In the past I had seen they stocked some with cameras built in and I was hoping they were still available. The demo box was on view but I could not see any on sale. On asking an assistant he went and checked and found the last one in store which had a colour camera. It would appear they had not been selling well and that was likely to be the last of that type there so I purchased it.

The old black and white camera in my home brew (Heath Robinson) box had failed and I don't think the box was the right size so I decided to replace that one. The camera in the new box is colour only though it does have white light LEDs which are adjustable for brightness. The main design fault is that the adjuster is next to the camera where it would have been more sensible to my mind to have that control near the power supply. Anyway I adjusted them to somewhere near pale Moon light so I could have some sort of picture at night.

The box is very substantial and all sections are fixed with screws making it easy to adapt for different birds and for cleaning. I decided to remove the top front section so it would be a Robin box. That way there would be plenty of daylight for the camera. The camera is in an enclosed section at the top and the lens pokes through a hole looking down into the box. After much cursing and wobbling on a precarious step stool I managed to fix it in some large evergreens.

Robin Nest Box

Video pictures look good so now it is back to the old waiting game to see if there are any takers next Spring. The last box was only visited twice that I saw and that was by a Great Tit which was looking for insects to eat. In the photo it looks as though the box is in full daylight but in fact I used flash as it is a reasonably shady spot.

Honey still is still AWOL. It is well over a week now since any Hedgehog visited the feeding area. The video is on auto capture but the only things which have triggered the recorder has been rain (plenty of that on many nights), a spider which insists on having a web in front of the camera, and the odd cat. Since I installed the Cat Gard there has only been one cat  on a couple of occasions but it passes through quickly and doesn't hang around any more. Honey had stopped visiting before the cat deterrent was installed so it isn't that which is keeping her away.

14 comments:

  1. I'm glad you didn't fall off that stool John! I hope a nice little family will show appreciation for all your hard work next Spring and move into that very desirable new residence ;)

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  2. The ground where I was working was very soft Jan so it was a bit of a job to find a firm place to balance a step stool and I was too lazy to get a ladder out ;)

    It would be nice to have it occupied next year. It is in a different place to the last one in case the local Robin is fussy about location.

    There have already been squabbles about territory between a couple of Robins. One day it was like watching a Second World War aerial dog fight as they chased around the trees.

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  3. I hope things get interesting around the nest box, John!

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  4. I'm very impressed with the box and especially that it has a camera already installed. Here's hoping it gets "rented" next spring!

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  5. Hi John,

    Great news, hopefully you will get some visitors next year. We have never had any luck with a Robin nestbox, but yours looks to be in a very hidden place, so I reckon you've got a good chance.

    Maybe, if both of our camera boxes are occupied next spring, we can share experiences from our two bird families. :)

    Looking forward to seeing how the events unfold

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  6. Let's hope you get some residents move in there John.

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  7. I bet you were pleased there was still one in stock! It looks very inviting, like a little lodge in the trees. I have to second the idea of not taking chances on step stools... a few days ago one of our staff members was putting up autumn decorations in the library using a stool (she knew better!). She lost her balance and fell. We ended up having to call an ambulance ~ she had fractured some bone that cut off a vein carrying blood to her brain. She could be off work for up to 3 months!

    I think Honey is hibernating, don't you? She was getting quite plumpified. Did you happen to see the newspaper article I left as a comment for you a couple of days ago? ;)

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  8. Thank you for visiting Silverpebble. It does look a bit posh but I don't think the birds notice the looks. If they did they would be fighting over possession ;)

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  9. Hi Mick. When I unpacked it I thought the camera was missing. I hadn't expected to find it already in place.

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  10. Hi Joe. I think Robins often like to find sheltered, secluded places to nest so I hope it is in the right sort of place.

    It would be great to share experiences. Fingers etc. crossed for next Spring.

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  11. Hi Glo. I was very relieved that there was one available. The stool was well jammed in place and once set up it was stable as I don't fancy any more hospital experience at the moment.

    I am hoping Honey is curled up somewhere cosy and safe. She had plumped up well and eaten less the last couple of time she visited so may well have been slowing down. I still put a bit of food out, just in case. It soon gets cleared up by the birds first thing.

    Yes. I did see the newspaper. I was late in acknowledging it, sorry. Brilliantly creative as always ;)

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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