Low Cost Camera with Blue Iris for Bird Box

[CK IP Camera]

Hi, I want to setup a bird box camera. I'm in the UK and there are some off the shelf offerings available here but they are expensive for what they are and none of them do everything I want (apart from the ones with cloud storage at cost!).
I've played with BI before on the trial version and really like it so was wondering about buying that and using cheaper cameras to achive what i want. I'll also get other cameras in the future so it would be cost effective over time.

Could anyone recommend a small camera that would be suitable for this kind of application and compatible with BI?

Must haves are: Small physical size, PoE, Night Vision
Prefered are: Low glow LEDS (eg. non visible), wide angle
Some have day time LEDS as the inside of a bird box is pretty dark but I can achieve this with a separate LED if necessary.

I can get motion alert and recording via BI. Is it easy to access BI remotely?

 

[TonyR]

IMO, the Sercomm RC4551 is a terrifc bird box camera: 1080p, POE, 4" close focus, IR, microphone and works with Blue Iris. They are no longer being made but often they will show up on ebay.

They were made for AT&T, Comcast, Cox, etc. and aren't weatherproff but are OK inside a good birdbox. I've had one in service in a bluebird box streaming to Blue Iris for 3 years now, the audio goes wonky with static about every 5 or 6 weeks but a power cycle corrects it again.

Blue Bird House Camera

I have a small camera in a birdhouse to watch the birds build a nest and raise the little ones. The camera is old technology and time to upgrade. I found a camera with newer technology on AliExpress, but AliExpress will not accept my credit card, so I cannot purchase it. My credit card company...

ipcamtalk.com

If you're unable to find the RC4551, it's cousin the Sercomm OC432 is a good second choice, also found on eBay. It is also 1080p, POE, 4" close focus, IR, microphone and works with Blue Iris. It too can be mounted using some plumber's tape and imagination.

EDIT: I see that neither of the above are on eBay UK. Can you purchase anything on eBay in the U.S. of A and have it shipped to the UK ?

 

[CK IP Camera]

Hi TonyR, Thats a real shame as it was exactly the kind of thing I was after. Shipping costs to the UK far exceed the camera cost!
Thanks anyway. Interesting reading about your experiences with your camera.

 

[TonyR]

Hi TonyR, Thats a real shame as it was exactly the kind of thing I was after. Shipping costs to the UK far exceed the camera cost!
Thanks anyway. Interesting reading about your experiences with your camera.

I have 5 more of the RC4551's in my closet gathering dust. I'd rather see someone using them in a birdbox.
PM me your shipping address and I'll find out how much it costs to ship one to you and if reasonable to you I can do that, just pay the shipping with no charge for the camera.

 

[looney2ns]

Here are some:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255799943349535.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.1.3f35770eFRqvrF&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.274681.0&scm_id=1007.13339.274681.0&scm-url=1007.13339.274681.0&pvid=c9da9c34-e8ed-48af-b465-b26e5327c29f&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.274681.0,pvid:c9da9c34-e8ed-48af-b465-b26e5327c29f,tpp_buckets:668#2846#8115#2000&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"10000000382343892","sceneId":"3339"}&pdp_npi=2@dis!USD!!27.29!!!!!@211b5e1e16567793528135844e7777!10000000382343892!rec&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

 

[CK IP Camera]

Would I go for the lowest focal length possible with these? Some of them go as low as 1.6mm. With the box I want to use

I have 5 more of the RC4551's in my closet gathering dust. I'd rather see someone using them in a birdbox.
PM me your shipping address and I'll find out how much it costs to ship one to you and if reasonable to you I can do that, just pay the shipping with no charge for the camera.

Hi Tony, actually the Aliexpress camera is more suitable as its much smaller and would fit into the bird box I want to use.

Thanks so much for your kind offer though,it really was much appreciated!

 

[CK IP Camera]

Would I go for the lowest focal length possible? Some of these Aliexpress cameras go down to 1.6mm. The camera would be around 6" away from the birds and the style of bird box looks at the botton of the box at an angle (rather than straight down from above) and would take in the entrance hole.

 

[TonyR]

UPDATE: 5/28/24 @ 0845 CDT: This eBay vendor says he has 7 of the Sercomm RC4551 cameras in stock with free shipping. These make great bird box cams: close focus, slight fisheye, POE, built in mic, has IR, streams RTSP to VLC or Blue Iris. Have one going 3 years now. And you don't need the plug-in doohickey that sometimes comes with it, it supposedly allows Wi-Fi to it but it's crappy, I hear. The cam will take 802.3af/at-compliant POE from a POE switch or POE injector directly:

Sercomm Full HD IP Camera RC4551 See Description | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sercomm Full HD IP Camera RC4551 See Description at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

View attachment Cam57.20240527_135818_1.mp4

 

[Pogo]

Cool. How is POE achieved with those? USB adapter?

 

[TonyR]

Cool. How is POE achieved with those? USB adapter?

No, it's 802.3af/at compliant: I have a CAT-5e running to it from my POE switch.

 

[Pogo]

Now I see it's under the removable cover from a 'parts only' pic on ebay. Pretty slick.

Out of curiosity, any idea what the original purpose by the telecoms was for these? I guess I can see them in Headends and COs for monitoring use maybe?

 

[TonyR]

Now I see it's under the removable cover from a 'parts only' pic on ebay. Pretty slick.

Out of curiosity, any idea what the original purpose by the telecoms was for these? I guess I can see them in Headends and COs for monitoring use maybe?

I think xFinity, Comcast and AT&T at one time bundled them with home security/alarm packages.

 

[Pogo]

Wouldn't surprise me and I can envision that.

Having been in the industry for a whole past life I was fortunate enough to not have the pleasure of implementing and supporting such a bold (bad?) idea before ejecting back in '14. Home Wi-Fi and keeping Netfix streaming was bad enough back then! LOL

Nice little clutch in your pic. Good luck with it if it's current. Red-Headed Woodpeckers ran off our first two pairs early. We're hoping for a second shot any time now.

 

[TonyR]

Wouldn't surprise me and I can envision that.

Having been in the industry for a whole past life I was fortunate enough to not have the pleasure of implementing and supporting such a bold (bad?) idea before ejecting back in '14. Home Wi-Fi and keeping Netfix streaming was bad enough back then! LOL

Nice little clutch in your pic. Good luck with it if it's current. Red-Headed Woodpeckers ran off our first two pairs early. We're hoping for a second shot any time now.

This clutch doing well, have 3 out of 5 hatched in the past 2 days, her and her mate are VERY busy. We contribute live mealworms that we order online from FL.
This is our 3rd year and bout the 6th brood.

In 2021 a racoon got all the eggs, I installed a baffle. In 2022 a rat snake bypassed the baffle and gobbled up the live chicks. I then installed 2 squares of galvanized hardware cloth (1/4" mesh) around the T-pole, each square about 16" x 16" and about 12" apart, and below the baffle.
It's been 2 years and 4 broods and no more losses to 'coons or snakes (fingers crossed).

EDIT: Below video from 6/10/24 @ before 11:00 CDT:
View attachment Cam57.20240610_102222_3.mp4

 

[Larebear]

IMO, the Sercomm RC4551 is a terrifc bird box camera: 1080p, POE, 4" close focus, IR, microphone and works with Blue Iris. They are no longer being made but often they will show up on ebay.

Thanks for the info on the Sercomm RC4551. I purchased one on eBay and installed it in a new bird house. It's working great, but probably won't see any birds nesting in it until next Spring. I did place a simulated nest and birds in it to see what it might look like when real birds discover it and build a nest next year

I installed it on the back of my shed which already has a 8 port POE switch inside for 6 other IP cameras. It works well with Blue Iris.

 

[TonyR]

BTW, here's a YT live stream below of the bluebird box. I'm streaming directly from Blue Iris and it's fairly dependable. Sometimes it'll run for 3 days and other times 4 hours and I restart the camera and it's back on. I tried OBS and it was more consistent BUT provided no audio as I get when using Blue Iris.

Some day I hope for things to settle down around here (lots of issues going on) so I can have time to troubleshoot and have a more consitant and dependable live stream that includes audio.

Bluebird Cam Live in NW Alabama

This is a box in NW Alabama for the Eastern Bluebird that has a live camera feed.

youtube.com

 

[Mark_M]

Here are some:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255799943349535.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.1.3f35770eFRqvrF&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.274681.0&scm_id=1007.13339.274681.0&scm-url=1007.13339.274681.0&pvid=c9da9c34-e8ed-48af-b465-b26e5327c29f&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.274681.0,pvid:c9da9c34-e8ed-48af-b465-b26e5327c29f,tpp_buckets:668#2846#8115#2000&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"10000000382343892","sceneId":"3339"}&pdp_npi=2@dis!USD!!27.29!!!!!@211b5e1e16567793528135844e7777!10000000382343892!rec&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

I got the 4MP version of this from that same AliExpress store (Top See Miniature Camera Store).
It works alright. Expected quality for the price.

This is 4MP, 2.1mm lens with audio. HINT: Buy the POE version.... I accidentally didn't. Cost me another $10 buying a POE splitter and enclosure.

24.29US $ 10% OFF|HD IP Camera 2MP/3MP/4MP Infrared Night Vision Camera Home Security IP Camera Surveillance Baby Monitor Mini CCTV IP Camera|Surveillance Cameras| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

The XMeye software is pretty bad.
Plugins and ActiveX needed and it took forever to get the encoding right for my NVR to record properly.

 

[TonyR]

I got the 4MP version of this from that same AliExpress store (Top See Miniature Camera Store).
It works alright. Expected quality for the price.

This is 4MP, 2.1mm lens with audio. HINT: Buy the POE version.... I accidentally didn't. Cost me another $10 buying a POE splitter and enclosure.

24.29US $ 10% OFF|HD IP Camera 2MP/3MP/4MP Infrared Night Vision Camera Home Security IP Camera Surveillance Baby Monitor Mini CCTV IP Camera|Surveillance Cameras| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

The XMeye software is pretty bad.
Plugins and ActiveX needed and it took forever to get the encoding right for my NVR to record properly.

@#$% starlings!
We had to make sure we capped the end of the traffic signal mastarms and any unused tenons on the mastarm to keep those buggers out....they would nest in there and make a big mess that caused problems if you ever had to pull in new conductors for an additional traffic signal on the mastarm.

 

[looney2ns]

We have two of these in boxes, they can catch the darn starlings as well as sparrows.
Starling trap

 

[Pogo]

That's wild, dude. Is it lethal, or just a significant reminder to its guest that popping in again probably isn't a good idea?

I've never seen one of those.

Wrens and Red Headed Woodpeckers are the biggest problem for our Bluebird nesting. They're tough little rascals though. And the boxes are close enough for me to assist in the deterrent effort. Even so they abandoned two nests this spring -- mostly due to the hassle from the Red Heads. First year I've seen that behavior from them. The wrens usually just get an ass-kicking and eventually abandon their efforts to occupy a box.

Good on you guys lookin' out for em in your areas and doing the cams. I'll get one going here sooner or later.