Looking for recommendations for wireless birdbox camera

July 8, 2019 8:20 AM

I'd like to install a birdbox on our house, and while I'm at it, also put a camera in it so I can watch the occupants, should they arrive. The location will be very hard to access after installation, so it needs to be durable and preferably wireless – wifi + solar powered, if possible. Looking for recommendations of either a complete kit, or separate camera system that I can install in any birdbox.

We currently have tits nesting in our roof, getting in via the broken soffit boards. Later this summer we're going to get the soffit boards and guttering fixed, and this gives us an opportunity to install a birdbox in the same location.

This is 3 stories high, inaccessible from a window, so while the contractors' scaffolding is up will be our last chance to access the birdbox. So it would need to stay working, hopefully for years, without any further maintenance. Does this sound realistic?

I'm hoping for an IP-based camera system I can access via our home network. The wall is in full sun for half the day, so would a solar powered system work? We could in theory plug it into the wall via a top floor window, but that would look ugly and might prevent the window from closing fully.

We could also install it within reach of the window, but I suspect that will be too close for comfort for the birds.

Has anyone else done this, and have advice or product recommendations?

posted by snarfois to Science & Nature (3 answers total)

I don't have specific recommendations, and this may be something you already know about, but you may want to search for "camera traps" or "trail cameras". There are many rugged, solar powered, and wireless options out there, as they are generally designed for hunters or other wildlife spotters. The university I work at has had good luck with the Reconyx brand, but the specific ones I am familiar with are not solar or wireless.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:12 AM on July 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: So far things aren't looking too promising. Camera traps seem over-spec'd for my purposes and far too expensive. On Amazon company called Greenfeathers seems to dominate this category, they have a confusing plethora of variants but this one is the only one with wifi as far as I can tell. Powered using a DC cable. Bad reviews have me worried.

I'm sure someone with Adam Savage DIY skills could rig up something awesome with various components from China but that's not me unfortunately.
posted by snarfois at 4:32 AM on July 9, 2019

If you have money to spend on this, you could certainly have an electrician install an outdoor power outlet in the eaves where you want the birdbox to be; people do this all the time to hang holiday lights more neatly. I assume you could also get ethernet wired to outside at the same point, to solve the wi-fi problem. However, I've never had an electrical device that didn't require some maintenance/rebooting occasionally, and don't forget about cleaning: with a bird camera you're probably looking at a lot of poop and feathers. So it may be better to see if there is any way to make the spot more accessible before you get too deep into the technical details.
posted by Jemstar at 8:59 AM on July 9, 2019