BIRD BOX CAMERA - TECHNICAL PAGE

Most of the bird box pictures are taken from a colour CCD camera looking in through the side of the birdbox as seen in the picture, left. Until 2003, virtually all pictures came from a monochrome camera mounted on the box lid together with an illuminator containing five high-power infra-red LEDs (shown below). This is still in use for night-time pictures.

A 5 watt fluorescent tube plus 12V inverter provided even illumination for when the colour camera was in use, see picture, though in 2007 this was replaced with a single high-power white LED.

From 2002, the footage has been recorded directly by the computer using motion detection software; previously a video recorder was used with the images selected manually.

The video signal travels up to the computer along URM202 75 ohm cable (like TV aerial cable, but somewhat thinner); this ensures sharp images despite the long cable length.

From 2004, pictures & video were captured by the computer using a Belkin VideoBus II. More recently, this has been replaced by a VideoBus USB 2.0, which apart from its principal consumer application in converting from Videocassettes to DVDs, also allows higher quality birdbox video clips to be produced.

Webcam (not used since 2003, but may reinstate it)

The motion detection software has a built-in image upload capability.

The nest cup area is blanked off (motion here does not trigger an upload), so only a parent bird arriving or departing will be detected. The upload image is grabbed 1 or 2 seconds after motion is first detected, then there is a 300 second timeout during which there must be no movement before another image can be grabbed.

Therefore, images usually show a parent bird arriving with food for offspring who haven't been fed for at least 5 minutes and who you might think are starving as a result!

Whilst doing this, the software continues to record all movement in the usual way for later viewing.

Trading website: www.ormitech.co.uk. Updated 01-04-08.