BirdBox 2018: time-lapse video

For 2018 I thought I'd try to gather periodic snapshots from my Maple tree bird box.

The idea is to make a series of time-lapse videos.

I'm hoping to capture nest building and maybe show the chicks growing from tiny naked blobs to fully feathered birds.

BirdBox2017: something is eating my SD card

2017 is turning out to be a great bird box season for us.

Both of our Raspberry Pi camera boxes are occupied, with the first set of chicks almost ready to leave the nest.

For the last few days my only concern has been whether I'll run out of SD card space before the chicks depart.

BirdBox2017: using motionEye & streamEye

After a couple of weeks of investigation, procrastination and frustration, I think I have reached a decision.

I am going to use motionEye to stream and display video to a remote laptop.

But this has meant a lot of upgrading to the heart of (what was) my 2015 bird box.

BirdBox2017: a new year, a new birdbox?

Well, not exactly. No plans to build a new box, but I would like to add a second camera.

As well as the main event inside the bird box, there is often quite a bit of action on the outside, especially during the early weeks, and at the end, when the chicks fledge.

So with only a few weeks left until I need to deploy my two Raspberry Pi powered bird boxes, I need to get on with development.

BirdBox2016: eggs at last

This season has certainly been unusual compared to the 7 previous years.

Following an unusually mild winter we have had to suffer a lot of cold, and often gloomy days during April.

So while we have generally noticed eggs appearing in our nest boxes in early April, this year we have had to wait a few weeks longer.

BirdBox2015: monitoring two video streams from motion

We now have two bird boxes which can stream video across our dedicated bird box wifi network.

Prompted by NestBoxTech I have spent a couple of hours this morning looking at simple and tidy ways to monitor the video created by the motion application.

The easiest way has got to be to use a web browser.

BirdBoxPi2015: deployed at last!

I managed to finish off the 2015 bird box on Wednesday and attached it to an archway, just a few metres outside our back door.

Something triggered it around midday yesterday, but didn't stick around long enough to be captured on video.

I just have a small niggle where the system is taking 15-20 seconds to find the time file. But other than that, its all systems go!

BirdBoxPi2015: Jessie U-Turn & other troubles

Unfortunately I've had to abandon Raspbian Jessie and return to Wheezy.

But I'm now back on track, with both hardware and software performing as expected.

I started out using Jessie and had no problems with my Gambas applications, custom scripts and other applications that I rely on for my system, including VLC media player.

BirdBoxPiCam2014: the box falls silent

It always seems strange to me, once the blue or great tits have left the nest, that the nest falls silent.

After 10 weeks of activity inside the nest box, 10 weeks of checking video recordings & watching "live" when we get the chance, the last chick leaves, and the screen displays a static view of moss, dried grass and dog hair.

And the view inside the box will probably remain largely unchanged (apart from the addition of more cobwebs), until next spring.

BirdBoxPiCam2014: Almost time to go!

The first of our great tit chicks hatched 22 days ago, so it's almost time to go for our two remaining youngsters.

The female is still doing a great job feeding her chicks without any help.

And, even more amazingly, my Raspberry Pi powered system is still going strong.

BirdBoxPiCam2014: Chicks in the nest

Things are really kicking off now, as chicks have started to hatch in the great tit nest box.

Dad brings in most of the food, as mum still has the job of keeping chicks and remaining eggs warm.

This is generally seen as the final, and most interesting stage of the process.

BirdBoxPiCam2014: Streaming video at 30fps

Now that the female has moved on from egg-laying-mode to incubation-mode, I've switched off motion detection in favour of live streaming.

It was more of a struggle than I'd expected to get streaming working, but I can now view the action live (well, live-ish if you ignore the 3 second delay) on one or more clients running VLC.

Video can be recorded on the server (i.e. the Raspberry Pi) or on a client.

BirdBoxPiCam2014: Eggs in the nest

On Monday the female left the nest, and rather carelessly, she didn't bother to cover the eggs.

Since then the female has started the incubation stage, and we have been able to get a better look at the clutch.

This short post is just a progress report.

BirdBoxPiCam 2014: News from the Nest

The blue tits arrived at the beginning of March and continued to visit almost every morning for a few weeks.

However, they wasted too much time faffing around and lost their deposit. A pair of new comers arrived on Monday the 24th and took control.

This post provides an update on nesting activities and adds some technical details regarding operation and performance.

BirdBoxPiCam 2014: Seven days of activity

Well its one week since I installed this bird box to the archway just outside our conservatory.

This post covers some of the highs and lows.

The really good news is that the local blue tits have been very helpful, arriving every morning to assist with testing the system.

BirdBoxPiCam 2014: Out there in the Wild

It's only been out there, in the garden, for 48 hours and already there are a pair of blue tits showing interest.

Their activity during the last two mornings has started the Raspberry Pi system and registered a few counts on the interface, which has been very useful, if only to show that the system is still alive!

There is still more work to be done, but at least I have confirmed that the wifi performance is acceptable.

BirdBoxPiCam2014: Lighting, Packaging & Progress

Having assembled the system to a point where it can be tested with a lead-acid battery, I now feel confident that I am well on the way to a viable bird box.

There is still quite a bit of work left to do, but I don't expect to trip over any last minute show-stoppers.

However, there is an issue with image size which is yet to be resolved.