For those who have hidden or disguised Cams in faux Bird House's, any issues with birds pecking or damaging the lens?

Rob2020

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I want to put a few cams at lower heights in bird houses. Has anyone done this and had problems with birds pecking or damaging the lens? My plan is to cut a hole for the lens with a hole saw so the hole will be pretty much be the size of the exterior lens. Currently just playing around; here is a Dahua 4239 Full Color Bullet and a Dahua 2 MP 2231 Varifocal. I am thinking of making the house non-traditional shaped (example is a Chickadee house) vs. a basic bird house. I thought of glass or Plexiglas in front of the lens but it complicates the build and possibly introduces infrared issues or reflection issues. The wood bottom is off the 4239 in the photo. The 2231 was just to get an idea of size/scale. The Chickadee house with new wood is an actual birdhouse I built. The one photo is shot from 25 feet to get an idea of camo and discreteness.
 

holiday

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Birds will usually ignore the camera.

The camera should be ideally looking down into the nest so that it can pick up what is inside the nest.
 

Rob2020

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Birds will usually ignore the camera.

The camera should be ideally looking down into the nest so that it can pick up what is inside the nest.
Oops, I apparently wasn't clear, I don't want to watch birds, the purpose is to hide or camoflauge cameras on my property at lower heights. I am concerned the birds will want to try to get into the entrance hole, which is actually the camera lens the way I intend to build them.
 

looney2ns

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They might peck at it once or twice and move on. Doubt that they would hurt anything.
You can always replace the lens cover of the cam, if need be with proper sized glass if it does get damaged.
 

NightLife

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As an outdoor enthusiast, I deploy a lot of game cameras every year. Even have a spare around my waist when I hike in case I come across a kill site, and want to capture what I just scared off a carcass. What I've found which has worked for bird interference is something I just had laying around from a past July 1. Small Canadian flags on a 16" dowel. The cams with the bird problems were usually deployed around my property so I was never concerned with the higher visibility and potential security issues of the flag attracting a thief to the camera. I would try something like the flag trick. It creates enough subtle movement that it spooks off birds. I just positioned mine behind the cam, so the small flag was never anywhere near being in frame, and could never trigger it. Use anything that would move - even a dollar store mobile, or anything which flutters a bit with any breeze. The birds have never again come back to land on my cam, nor do they even land anywhere on the deck railing within 20 feet. Before that blue jays were landing on the damned thing and just sitting there, or cleaning their beaks on the top of it .. and I'd wake up, check the footage and then find out it was another jay which left my cam sitting at an odd angle.


And definitely don't invite the problem. Don't feed the birds, and if you do have to then move that activity away from the cameras you see affected.

In the past I have tried rubber snakes, and plastic owls. The pigeon in question flew past the plastic owl, landed and walked on top of the rubber snake. Then stood there, head bobbing, as though mocking my efforts with his heroic deed. :banghead:
 

xmfan

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I wanted to do the same, by which I mean, installing a camera in a birdhouse. I have a lot of planters near my front door so placing one there, at the ideal height would be great. At one point, I had searched high and low through google images as well as pinterest but never really found any good examples.
I'm not a woodworker so I need to look at an existing design to copy and/or get ideas from. I went to the craft store a couple of weeks ago and found a DIY birdhouse kit for $7. You know the kind that teaches your kids how to assemble things, etc. - LOL.
I just need to enlarge the hole in the front to ensure the lens will have clear view. To address the bird "pecking" at the cam lens, i thought to put a clear glass but that might bring other issues like glare from IR so still thinking about a solution for that.

the tip from @NightLife in the post above is fantastic, it just might be the ticket to keep the birds away. Got a good laugh reading about the pigeon's antics.
 

CCTVCam

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I think most people use a more traditional birdhouse shape with a round hole and the camera completely enclosed inside. The lens then blocks the hole.

There are quite a few threads including birdhouse cameras on here if you take a look.
 
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