Karen D 🇨🇦Hey Mastodon hive mind. Does anyone have a bird feeder with a camera for watching and identifying birds? I would like to get one for my hubs who is going to be laid up for a few months. I'm looking for recommendations for brands and styles. Online reviews are mixed - I'd rather not have to buy a subscription and some say they aren't reliable or don't charge well when with solar panels. I'm in Canada.
Please boost, thanks!
Belle (she/her)
Willow (she/her)@RavynWitch @KarenDorman I do!
Mine is a trail cam, not an AI-powered subscription, which I love.
It's the GardePro E9PCF - it takes an SD card, and you also can connect with WiFi on your phone when you're in range (the range is decent!)
You can set it up to take photos and/or videos. Mine takes a photo then does 1 min of video immediately after (does sound too!)
For IDing birds I take the photos and use eBird or iNaturalist.
The battery is decent and it has a solar panel that works perf.
Here's the link: http://gardepro.com/en-ca/products/e9pcf-wi-fi-trail-camera They ship to Canada (that's where I am!)
For the feeder I use a Brome setup (they're Canadian!) I've got the squirrel buster on a pole (swaying feeders trigger the cam too easily) It's squirrel-proof. I love it a lot.
https://bromebirdcare.ca/collections/shop-all-1/products/squirrel-buster-plus-podium
The whole thing has been SO good for my mental health. We've had a ton of different birds visit and so many repeat visitors I've watched grow up the last few months.
Oh one more thing! This particular cam allows for close focus, like 6 inches I think? So you can get some incredible shots! (if you look at the tag #BirdsOfTheShire you'll see some of the photos and videos I've gotten)