Just a short piece of video captured yesterday morning when the Blue Tit made one of its morning visits to the nestbox.
Showing posts with label Video Camera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Camera. Show all posts
Monday, 2 March 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Robin Nestbox Mk2
I bought this Robin nestbox about two years ago. I treated the outside of it, drilled three small drainage holes in the base and put it on one side until I got round to mounting a camera inside it.
As it was a sunny warm day I finally got round to getting on with the job. The camera is one I had removed from its original use as a security camera. It was faulty in that the infra-red lighting refused to work properly and the colour was very poor. Fortunately the main part was just a board camera and when I disconnected the light sensor the IR LEDs stayed on all the time. Just what I needed as the box was to be put in a poorly lit sheltered spot. Having taken off the lid of the box I then set about finding the best position and angle to mount the camera. Also the camera has to be focussed for close objects. It is no use focussing on the bottom of the box as any nest and bird will be closer to the lens so it needs to be focussed on a point about two inches above the bottom of the nestbox.
Once in position the camera was wired up properly and the hole for the wire was sealed with hot melt glue. Next job - some extra waterproofing in the shape of the sort of plastic used for damp proof courses in buildings. This was overlapped in all directions so it should stop any water penetrating to the camera. Any small gaps were also sealed with hot melt glue.
Finally I fixed the wooden roof back and chose a place to fix Robin Cam Box Mk2, ran the cable back to the shed and removed my first Robin Cam Box which was too much in the open to be really attractive to any respectable red breasted squatter. I put a few shavings in the bottom of the box and wired it up to my surveillance system. (Top right hand camera. The bottom pictures are the inside and outside of the Blue Tit nestbox)
I may be too late for this Spring but it will give plenty of time for it to be investigated for next year.
As it was a sunny warm day I finally got round to getting on with the job. The camera is one I had removed from its original use as a security camera. It was faulty in that the infra-red lighting refused to work properly and the colour was very poor. Fortunately the main part was just a board camera and when I disconnected the light sensor the IR LEDs stayed on all the time. Just what I needed as the box was to be put in a poorly lit sheltered spot. Having taken off the lid of the box I then set about finding the best position and angle to mount the camera. Also the camera has to be focussed for close objects. It is no use focussing on the bottom of the box as any nest and bird will be closer to the lens so it needs to be focussed on a point about two inches above the bottom of the nestbox.
Once in position the camera was wired up properly and the hole for the wire was sealed with hot melt glue. Next job - some extra waterproofing in the shape of the sort of plastic used for damp proof courses in buildings. This was overlapped in all directions so it should stop any water penetrating to the camera. Any small gaps were also sealed with hot melt glue.
Finally I fixed the wooden roof back and chose a place to fix Robin Cam Box Mk2, ran the cable back to the shed and removed my first Robin Cam Box which was too much in the open to be really attractive to any respectable red breasted squatter. I put a few shavings in the bottom of the box and wired it up to my surveillance system. (Top right hand camera. The bottom pictures are the inside and outside of the Blue Tit nestbox)
I may be too late for this Spring but it will give plenty of time for it to be investigated for next year.
Monday, 23 February 2009
Monitoring My Bird Feeders & Nest Boxes
I like my comfort. I like to watch the birds at the feeders. To that end I trained a surveillance camera on the main set of bird feeders. All my cameras can be watched on an old 15 inch monitor I have in the corner of the living room.
As well as the cameras there are two multiplexers. One is in the shed and combines the views of the nest boxes. The other is in the living room and combines all the camera views. This one also has a hard drive so recordings can be made. Both can be remotely controlled so I can choose which cameras to watch. All the equipment, including the cameras, I bought, mostly second hand, on eBay over the past couple of years.
Various settings allow all the cameras to be seen at once:
Or just one: (I spy a Long Tailed Tit)
With this setting I can monitor the Robin box, top right, the Tit box and see any birds flying to and from the boxes:
A low resolution video of a couple of Long Tailed Tits observed on "Feeder Cam". Looks as though it needs re-focussing and the colour readjusting.
At the moment Squirrel Nutkins is attacking the peanut feeder so I guess the feeder I set up just for him/her is empty so I'd better go and top it up before it chews through the mesh.
As well as the cameras there are two multiplexers. One is in the shed and combines the views of the nest boxes. The other is in the living room and combines all the camera views. This one also has a hard drive so recordings can be made. Both can be remotely controlled so I can choose which cameras to watch. All the equipment, including the cameras, I bought, mostly second hand, on eBay over the past couple of years.
Various settings allow all the cameras to be seen at once:
Or just one: (I spy a Long Tailed Tit)
With this setting I can monitor the Robin box, top right, the Tit box and see any birds flying to and from the boxes:
A low resolution video of a couple of Long Tailed Tits observed on "Feeder Cam". Looks as though it needs re-focussing and the colour readjusting.
At the moment Squirrel Nutkins is attacking the peanut feeder so I guess the feeder I set up just for him/her is empty so I'd better go and top it up before it chews through the mesh.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Bird Nestboxes
It is nearly a year since I put up two nest boxes on the back of my garden shed, one for the tit family and the other for Robins. They both have video cameras installed so I can watch any activity. Up until a week ago both boxes were being ignored but last week a Blue Tit used the tit box as a roost on two nights and has investigated the box a few more times.
A box for Blue Tits
The box for Robins - surrounded by artificial Ivy as Robins prefer to nest in a secluded position. This is an experiment to see whether the idea works.
The tit box has a colour camera from Handykam which shows colour video if the light is bright enough - otherwise the picture is black and white. The Robin box has an old black and white board camera.
A picture of the board camera which is mounted on a sheet of plastic to keep it away from any damp wood. The top of the box is covered with the type of plastic used for damp proof courses to try to keep the inside of the box dry. So far it has stood up to a year of very heavy rainfall.
A little video of the Blue Tit puffed out like a feather ball to keep warm in the sub zero temperature.
A box for Blue Tits
The box for Robins - surrounded by artificial Ivy as Robins prefer to nest in a secluded position. This is an experiment to see whether the idea works.
The tit box has a colour camera from Handykam which shows colour video if the light is bright enough - otherwise the picture is black and white. The Robin box has an old black and white board camera.
A picture of the board camera which is mounted on a sheet of plastic to keep it away from any damp wood. The top of the box is covered with the type of plastic used for damp proof courses to try to keep the inside of the box dry. So far it has stood up to a year of very heavy rainfall.
A little video of the Blue Tit puffed out like a feather ball to keep warm in the sub zero temperature.
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