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Please talk to me about bird nesting box cameras

6 replies

SharonGless · 05/12/2010 09:23

Ok I have seen these mentioned on here as a few people bought them last year.
I was thinking of getting them for ILs and possibly my grandparents depending on how much of an arse they are to set up as I will obviously have to do that.

Being a bit thick - do you have to plug camera in to download it all or can you tune it into the TV so they can just change channel if they want to check what is going on? Am bit concerned it will all be too technical for them

OP posts:
SharonGless · 05/12/2010 10:49

Bump

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RustyBear · 05/12/2010 11:16

We have one at school, and you can connect it directly to either a computer or a TV, so yes you can watch on TV.

The one we have has a 30ft cable, so you'd have to work out where to site it. You can get wireless versions, but they are more expensive and the signal can be a bit dodgy sometimes. Also, unless you use batteries, which would then need changing from time to time, you're going to need a power cable anyway - the model we have has a combined cable which goes through a small hole in the classroom wall.

We haven't had a lot of luck with ours - last year a blue tit laid 13 eggs and the children loved watching the nest - but then a woodpecker bored straight through the box and took ten of the eggs.

The mother continued to sit on the remaining eggs but it soon became obvious they weren't going to hatch - she had presumably been away from them for too long while the raid was going on. She went on sitting devotedly for almost a month though before finally giving up.

This year a nest was started in the box (which our caretaker had practically armour plated) but no eggs were laid.

We will be trying again next year.

We have a live stream to the SouthEast Grid for Learning's birdbox page which you can see here - none of the cameras are live at the moment - we will be settting up again next term ready for the nesting season- but the home page has a lot of useful information about setting up a nest cam and some useful links.

SharonGless · 05/12/2010 22:33

RustyBear thanks a lot - the link has given me somewhere to start looking Grin

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ClaireDeLoon · 05/12/2010 22:37

We stayed in a holiday cottage in Scotland with two cameras you could watch via the tv. Was great. There was a box with a switch at the back of the tv to swap between for the tv/box 1/box 2. Loved it.

I got my parents a next box Christmas before last and this summer they had birds nesting. I have wondered if I could get them the camera for it.

Now is the time to put up a nest box they say so the birds have time to get used to it before nesting season.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 06/12/2010 08:39

Watching with interest. My mum phoned on Saturday and told me there was a blue tit in one of her nesting boxes.
I'd love to get her a camera to go in it. where are they sold?

TaffyandTeenyTaffy · 06/12/2010 08:47

I have bought one of these for my mum for christmas - my inlaws have one too. Not too difficult to put in and they too have a separate channel on the TV. They recorded it onto DVD throughout the year and had some really good footage of the babes hatching/feeding etc until FIL recorded over it (oops!) I got mine from a factory clearance shop but I have seen them in garden centres.

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