HD Birdhouse.

 Spring comes. And birds and in finland we got this challenge to make one milion birdsnes during 2016 so i decided to make my own.

I had previously bought 720P ip-camera for this purpose, so i decided now it's good time for this. Birdhouse is made for bigger bird or for a squirel. Inner dimensions are 20x20x50cm. There is chance that small owl, jackdaw or squirel will live in it.

I started by getting some 22x150mm lumber from K-rauta.

From these i sawed  pieces for all the walls. 50cm front wall, side walls starting from 50cm and going up 5-degree slop for the roof and last back wall that is around 52cm tall)

After all sawing was done i took the router and made step on the planks i joined together to make sure wind doesn't blow in so easy. I also put some wood glue in between there and also support woods to the top and bottom of the walls.

I first made the roof the same way from two pieces of lumber where i fit the camera. In the end i ended up making the roof with water resistant plywood.

 

For the camera i got the housing again from Biltema. 110x110x70mm by size. Camera, block of wood for attaching and all cables and stuff fit inside well.

Wood i attached with super glue after sanding the inside of plastic rough. Camera i attached to wood with couple of screws in its correct spot. Some electical tape around the connectors to make sure they don't get deattached.

Camera looking through the hole. Lense cover still on here.

Gap between plastic box and the roof i filled with silicone and i also put some on all the seams of the wood to make sure wind and rain doesn't get in. Around the cables i put some electrical tape so they are protected and kept together.

Testing the camera. Hole where cables goes in i also protected with silicone.

Birdhouse to the wood around 4 meters high. Steel cable around the tree and webbing on the bottom to make sure it stays up and upright without moving in the wind. Cables down on the side of the wood and inside the house. 10M cable was just right lenght and i had 20cm reaching inside. 15M network cable was plentiful.

Connect the cables, Turn on the camera. Make the configurations and we have a picture! Now we can see what is happening inside the birdhouse from the computer.

I also made the software to take pics every hour so i can make timelapse later. When something happens inside i will put pictures/videos/updates to the blog.

How it looks inside the birdhouse

I hope somebody decides to live in the birdhouse.