• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Shooting bird nests (1 Viewer)

L

Luigi

Member
Hi all. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good miniature camera setup that I could place inside a nest box and get video of the birds nesting and raising chicks?
I read about wired and wireless options and different ways to receive the signals and I'm not sure if any brands are better or worse. Some can be run off battery packs to eliminate another cable for power to the nest box.
I want to be able to video the inside of the nest box day and night and be able to either stream wirelessly or connect via a cable to a computer or tv.
Ideally, I would like a tiny camera that could send video to my ipad wirelessly and be able to video during day or night and use a battery pack to eliminate any wires, but it needs to be a clear, reliable signal.
If anyone has actually done this with good results, I would appreciate any advice.
 
Hi there Luigi and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

Hopefully someone will ring in with some suggestions for you.

Please join in wherever you like ;)
 
Most bird box cheaper cameras are designed to plug directly into a tv. If you want to watch on a computer or smartphone you need an " IP camera ". Whilst these have been around for many years as security cameras they have only just started coming out as nest box and wildlife cameras. Nest boxes need a close focus, not something security needs. Regarding power most need external power, the camera is on 24/7 and needs a lot of power. Some can use Power over Ethernet, where the electric goes down the network cable, so only one cable is required. But check your router can deliver PoE as not all domestic routers can. A couple of possible products are below (I haven't tried any of them, I've just Googled what sort of thing you need).
https://www.nhbs.com/ip-nest-box-camera
https://gardenature.co.uk/shop/watching-wildlife/ip-camera-kits
 
Robert Dunn said:
Luigi,
I had very good results with this camera: https://www.green-feathers.co.uk/collections/hd-bird-box-cameras/products/wifi-bird-box-camera
Support is excellent.
Best wishes,
Bob
Click to expand...

Thanks. Do you have any problems with reception?
The nest is about 7-8 meters away from our router, but I'm not clear as to how the wifi works in conjunction with the available wifi.
If the camera produces its own wifi signal, why would it need to be near your home wifi network (as it says in the ad)?
Wouldn't it just be another wifi signal that could be picked up by any wifi-capable receiver like a phone?

And do you use the battery pack or do you run a power cable to the house?

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice.
 
I wish people wouldn't use 'shooting' when they mean filming or photographing, I expected all sorts of horrors when I opened this thread!
 
andyadcock said:
I wish people wouldn't use 'shooting' when they mean filming or photographing, I expected all sorts of horrors when I opened this thread!
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I thought the same when I was scanning the titles. But "shooting" is a commonly used term for taking pictures here in the US anyway. So, with my apprehension subdued, I am following this with interest. A lot of my sightings have been at our feeders. The thoughts of being able to monitor them remotely have come to my mind before. I think it would be a good thing, especially if it was to where pictures could be taken and stored on a hard drive for later study and use.
 
The camera above connects to your wifi network it does not broadcast its own. It needs power, it is designed to use the supplied power supply but you could improvise a battery system or solar system.
 
Mono said:
The camera above connects to your wifi network it does not broadcast its own. It needs power, it is designed to use the supplied power supply but you could improvise a battery system or solar system.
Click to expand...

Thank you. That seems a bit more complicated. I need to find out more about the wireless options and if it’s going to work for me.
I’m in the UK and use virgin media and it’s equipment and the tree with the nest box is about 8-10 steps from the router and we can sit under the tree and get good WiFi on our phones.
 
If you can get good wifi signal at the tree then that would work. Running a 12v cable wouldn't be too much hassle. I have experience with a battery powered wireless bird box cam of the straight to TV type and it would get through 8 D batteries in a week, much more cost effective to run a cable.
 
Luigi said:
Thanks. Do you have any problems with reception?
The nest is about 7-8 meters away from our router.

And do you use the battery pack or do you run a power cable to the house?

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice.
Click to expand...

I did have problems with reception since my router is in the basement on the opposite side of the house from the box. I installed an inexpensive extender in an electrical outlet on the wall by the garden which works perfectly.
I ran an 8 or 10m cable (available from the supplier), and plugged the 12v adapter into an external outlet. It's a thin wire and goes through the garden where we regularly work, so I ran it through 5/8" plastic pipe which we use elsewhere for our watering system.
Thanks to one other contributor who explained your wifi questions. (Actually it does broadcast a wifi signal, but connecting it to your household system gives options: streaming to a website for example.)
Bob
 
Last edited:
I got the wifi bird cam and put it in one of my bird boxes. The setup works fine so far and I hope that someone uses it for roosting or nesting. Thanks to all for the advice.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

M
Hooded Merganser/Harle Couronné - Nest box - 2024
Replies
0
Views
205
Meinadigitalworld
M
C
Help needed for a bird box
Replies
9
Views
1K
Chairsontheroof
C
B
Bird Box nesting activity stopped?
Replies
7
Views
3K
NorretteCurrent
N
M
Battery operated, wireless, wifi, nestbox cameras?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Gardine
G
M
Hello!
Replies
0
Views
393
Mr Wildlife
M

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top