All this has been hand made and is self hosted. No adverts, tracking cookies or anything nasty. This is my way of fighting against the enshittification of everything. Enjoy the site. Enjoy the birds. I hope it makes you happy. At some point I am aiming to start producing smart boxes for anyone who wants one, and I will be doing a blog post about the design when I get the time, in case anyone wants to make their own.
About eight years ago I was trying out a few cheap cameras to attach to my bicycle. One was a tiny little cube thing that was a bit rubbish, and I ended up using a different one. I was putting a bird box up, so I stuffed the cube in the roof using a bit of bent metal to hold it in place and a lens to focus it. The first year it was up, there were no birds, so it was forgotten about. Then, in the spring of 2022, something small and feathery was spotted leaving the nest box, but by then the camera didn't work any more.
I couldn't quite believe that any other birds would ever use the nest box so I decided to see how cheaply I could make a bird box cam. £10.83 is the answer, if you can't be bothered to click that link.
Just in case there was anything to watch, I set up a web site. This is what it looked like originally. When birds actually started using the box I regretted skimping on the camera so badly. The quality is terrible.
So a big upgrade was planned for 2024 - new box, lights, camera, action!
In October 2023 I fell off a motorbike, broke my kneecap and wrist, so the upgrade didn't happen. It was shitty grainy video for another year
Bigger, better, and cunningly designed to view the beaks from a slight angle, the new box also has two cameras - one for quality video and the second for low-light conditions. No more grainy rubbish!
As well as two cameras, there are also infra-red LEDs and white LEDs, both dimmable for subtle lighting effects or a disco. There is also a microphone in there, for the full invasion of privacy, and a sensor on the entrance to detect when the birds come and go.
Finally there is a light meter so the in-box lighting can be adjusted for optimal exposure. The lights will be turned down low until the birds have got used to them.
