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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 7, 2023 11:03:15 GMT
Hello, newbie here in all senses.
I'm a bit of a geek and put up a nest box with camera at the weekend in a garden which has never had a box at all (been here 15 years). There is also a feeder about 20 feet away. Next door's garden is a bird haven with a couple of small old boxes and feeders that I can see and lots of bird activity. Our garden is pretty bare and basic - grassy and open with some conifers and bushes/hedges surrounding. I have seen some coal and blue tits in an apple tree on the drive however, with direct line of sight to my box, but they are more interested in said neighbours roof above this tree which has a cavity.
My box is facing NE, about 6 foot up on the side of a shed which has had no use since end of summer (and we are not going in the garden at all atm while we are watching).
I have read here and elsewhere of tit visits going back as early as January. Someone even said they had visits less than 24 hours after putting up a new box! Is that the norm? I have not even had a head pop in for a sneaky look yet. Is my garden currently just a blind spot to the birds? Is it a matter of time given nearby activity or might it take a couple of seasons?
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Post by suep on Feb 7, 2023 12:54:10 GMT
Hello John (assuming that), welcome to the forum. Not an expert by any means but in response to your post - birds vary in their approach to new boxes, we have seen and heard that people have visits straight away and other may wait a long time for a visit. The fact that your neighbour has plenty of activity is a good sign and I am sure your box will be spotted soon. Visits in the winter are usually for roasting purposes or for checking out in readiness for the perfect box to nest in come the Spring. It is often about now that birds are looking and if they find the box that is right for them, usually nest building begins early in March (however some don’t start until into April or later), it depends on the state of trees and the foliage beginning to provide caterpillars suitable for the young chicks.. Patience is the key. Be patient, keep watching and hopefully you will be rewarded with some visits at least and hopefully more!!! Be aware these nest watching boxes are very addictive and very time consuming. You will get hooked. The forum is quiet at the moment but probably a month from now there will be plenty of people to converse with and get information from. Good luck. Sue
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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 7, 2023 13:18:15 GMT
Hello John (assuming that), welcome to the forum. Not an expert by any means but in response to your post - birds vary in their approach to new boxes, we have seen and heard that people have visits straight away and other may wait a long time for a visit. The fact that your neighbour has plenty of activity is a good sign and I am sure your box will be spotted soon. Visits in the winter are usually for roasting purposes or for checking out in readiness for the perfect box to nest in come the Spring. It is often about now that birds are looking and if they find the box that is right for them, usually nest building begins early in March (however some don’t start until into April or later), it depends on the state of trees and the foliage beginning to provide caterpillars suitable for the young chicks.. Patience is the key. Be patient, keep watching and hopefully you will be rewarded with some visits at least and hopefully more!!! Be aware these nest watching boxes are very addictive and very time consuming. You will get hooked. The forum is quiet at the moment but probably a month from now there will be plenty of people to converse with and get information from. Good luck. Sue Thank you Sue. Literally 10 minutes after posting I had a couple peering in! So exciting and yes, addictive indeed. Two males, I assume, at the same time, one checking outside (quite interested in the way I have concealed wires with tape) and then both looking inside cautiously a few times. I believe males are a bit fatter - do they actually enter at all or is it just females come nesting time?
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Post by suep on Feb 7, 2023 16:20:28 GMT
Hi John, so pleased you’ve an early visit. When you have two checking out the box it is usually a male and female pair. Most often the male does the seeking for a new box and then brings the female to approve or otherwise of his choice (a bit like the human world actually ha ha). You will find that if he manages to get the female to enter, he is often then chased out whilst she does her own inspection . Once the decision for a box has been made it will be (in most cases) the female alone that builds the nest and the male only comes into his own when she requires him for the fertilising of her eggs. I can never tell the male and female apart except for their behaviour once in the box. This is a great start for you so everything crossed Sue
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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 8, 2023 7:18:48 GMT
A pair makes better sense of course. I had thought with it still being early it might be competing males.
Thanks again Sue and hopefully more to share soon.
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Post by karenupnorth on Feb 10, 2023 12:31:08 GMT
Hi John. I look forward to seeing what happens with your new box. Where ae you located? Good luck for the coming season.
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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 11, 2023 18:08:12 GMT
Hi John. I look forward to seeing what happens with your new box. Where ae you located? Good luck for the coming season. Hi Karen, I am in Derbyshire. Thank you, I will be documenting on YT should anything happen. No more activity yet but perhaps there will be more with the decent weather and temp from tomorrow.
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Post by karenupnorth on Feb 12, 2023 7:40:37 GMT
I suspect things will definitely pick up in the coming weeks with the milder weather and lighter days. What sort of a set up do you have regarding box camera etc?
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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 12, 2023 10:48:30 GMT
I suspect things will definitely pick up in the coming weeks with the milder weather and lighter days. What sort of a set up do you have regarding box camera etc? I went for the standard Green Feathers WIFI setup and side view box. I had designed a box last year with natural light, but it was all a bit last minute in the end so just have the LED light. It does look a bit like Tesco in there tbh so will probably go natural next year!
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Post by karenupnorth on Feb 12, 2023 11:38:32 GMT
The side view box is a popular one, quite a few forum members have had successful seasons with it, so fingers crossed the BTs will choose yours. I dont think the LED lights bother the birds, they do show up the colours well on the birds and improves all round viewing, but its a personal choice. I look forward to seeing how it all goes, Im in North Yorkshire and the birds are pairing up, exciting times ahaead.
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Post by sammi on Feb 17, 2023 9:01:42 GMT
Just wanted to welcome you to the rollercoaster ride we all go through each year. Good luck with your nesters. Looking forward to your updates.
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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 21, 2023 13:28:42 GMT
Just wanted to welcome you to the rollercoaster ride we all go through each year. Good luck with your nesters. Looking forward to your updates. Thank you. No further interest yet, but hoping and waiting.
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Post by pete11 on Feb 27, 2023 8:55:31 GMT
Good luck John. I've got the same camera and lamp as you have although I have a different box (the Green Feathers 'deluxe') - lamp didn't seem to bother the nesting blue tits last year (box and camera went up the year before that with no luck).
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Post by johnb2023 on Feb 27, 2023 14:21:57 GMT
Good luck John. I've got the same camera and lamp as you have although I have a different box (the Green Feathers 'deluxe') - lamp didn't seem to bother the nesting blue tits last year (box and camera went up the year before that with no luck). Cheers Pete. Starting to think that fleeting bit of early interest was beginner's luck and it's more the norm for these periods of silence or nothing at all for the first year. The lamp is an interesting one. I must say if I was a Tit I might opt for a box without given the choice as it does seem a bit intense and goes off later than I would expect with some flickering.
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Post by pete11 on Mar 1, 2023 8:41:55 GMT
I think you're going through a similar process to me in terms of initially worrying if the kit you've got is acceptable to the birds. Based on my experiences last year I'd urge you not to worry - birds have very different eyes to us that respond very differently to light levels. Yes it's true that the presence of a lamp where it would normally be dark is probably not 'ideal' for them, but when it comes down to choosing where to nest I think it's far more about how sturdy and sheltered they perceive the box to be, and most crucially whether they're able to access the right food at the right time in the vicinity. Of course I could be wrong! But don't worry about the lamp is all I'm saying Also the way my box/can setup went was: a bit of interest initially from BTs in the first year, followed by a GT rooster over that winter, followed early last yr by a bit of battling between roosting GT and very interested BTs, ending up with GT just disappearing and BTs carrying on with the full nest/eggs/chicks/fledging. So you might not have much actual nesting luck in year 1....or who knows, never say never!
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Post by johnb2023 on Mar 1, 2023 12:34:58 GMT
Cheers Pete, maybe I should put up an extra box 😅
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Post by pete11 on Mar 1, 2023 21:08:59 GMT
John, quick question - do you know what version of the GF wifi camera you have? Is it the one they refer to as NCIP3WF, or the latest GFWF3? My old one was NCIP3WF and I got a really good RTSP stream out of it with video and audio. But this one they've sent me as a replacement is GFWF3 and having faffed about and discovered what the RTSP stream URL is (one that gives me a picture at least), it doesn't have any audio associated with it. The smartphone app has audio but I find the app very limited in terms of capturing all the action. My existing setup uses a raspberry pi to record the RTSP stream. It worked a treat last year. Anyway, I realise there's a chance none of the above will make any sense to you at all unless you're interested in more technical stuff, so apologies if that's the case! But I thought I'd ask anyway!
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Post by suep on Mar 1, 2023 22:35:14 GMT
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Post by johnb2023 on Mar 1, 2023 22:55:58 GMT
John, quick question - do you know what version of the GF wifi camera you have? Is it the one they refer to as NCIP3WF, or the latest GFWF3? My old one was NCIP3WF and I got a really good RTSP stream out of it with video and audio. But this one they've sent me as a replacement is GFWF3 and having faffed about and discovered what the RTSP stream URL is (one that gives me a picture at least), it doesn't have any audio associated with it. The smartphone app has audio but I find the app very limited in terms of capturing all the action. My existing setup uses a raspberry pi to record the RTSP stream. It worked a treat last year. Anyway, I realise there's a chance none of the above will make any sense to you at all unless you're interested in more technical stuff, so apologies if that's the case! But I thought I'd ask anyway! Not 100% on model number but mine is 3rd Gen WIFI and got it end of Jan if that helps, so I expect if yours is HD it is the same model. I have found the RTSP stream ok for WIFI outdoors - occasional artifacts, but certainly good enough for redundancy I'd say. HD stream with audio on mine is 192.168.45:554/stream0, SD with audio ends stream1. The audio started crackling one morning, which sounded like a buffer issue, but a power cycle of the camera resolved. Two weeks on and still good. They said they are looking into that.
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Post by pete11 on Mar 2, 2023 8:41:39 GMT
Thanks John Your stream1/stream0 URLs are like the ones my old camera had, so sounds like you've probably got the slightly older version. I'm wondering if my problem is down to firmware being 'improved', but perhaps not fully tested by the manufacturer. Hmm.
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Post by johnb2023 on Mar 2, 2023 9:48:56 GMT
I guess they send out whatever model variation they have in stock, but looked to me like simply '3rd Gen' was the newest one. Worth contacting their support for your issue though.
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Post by johnb2023 on Mar 3, 2023 11:42:32 GMT
Noise issue has returned 😔
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Post by pete11 on Mar 4, 2023 9:06:07 GMT
Is it a crackly buzzy sound? My old camera used to do that sometimes and I realised it was when the wind was blowing in a certain direction - I decided it was being caused by a resulting draught blowing onto the camera mic in a specific way.
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Post by johnb2023 on Mar 6, 2023 18:25:34 GMT
Yeah, I've heard that too but this is definitely a stream or at least data thing. It went on its own this time. I think it could be the result of WIFI signal getting low on occasion. I plan to get past some of these niggles and limitations with a Raspberry Pi project of my own next season. Hopefully the supply issues are sorted by then!
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Post by pete11 on Mar 6, 2023 20:49:40 GMT
I had problems with wifi connectivity initially with my camera. I vastly improved matters by running an outdoor mains cable from my outdoor socket over to a waterproof box near the nest box location (the type you can buy in DIY stores, normally used for water features or paddling pools ). I plugged a 4-way extension into the end of the outdoor cable in the waterproof box - I then used a pair of powerline adapters, one next to my home router and the other plugged into the 4-way extension in the waterproof box. Then I actually put a small cheap wifi router in the waterproof box, too (!), configured as an access point, connected to my home router via the powerline pair. I could also use the 4-way extension to power the DC supply for the camera itself.
So basically I have powerline adapter, small router and camera DC supply all housed in the waterproof box. The camera is then close enough to the access point to get a much stronger connection. Seems to work very well. Occasionally the powerline adapter and/or router need a reboot as they seem to fall over in a heap from time to time if I'm streaming stuff constantly.
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