suggestions solicited for more accurate trigger config

[marklyn]

I have a cam pointed to my owl house and, for months, have tried to tweak settings so that it's only triggering when a bird (owl), squirrel is in front of the hole.
There are certain parts of the day where the shadows from the leaves in the tree trigger it and, while i know it won't be 100% perfect, I'd like to minimize the shadows but mainly the slight sway of the limb.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing from you on what to try. I've attached the 3 most relevant trigger screens, but in summary:
min obj size: 235, min contrast: 21, algorithm: Simple, Object detection: mostly unchecked on that tab, zones (see attached)

 

[wittaj]

Do a hotspot of just the black circle - that black opening should be pretty much immune from shadows and anything but something going in and out of the hole.

 

[marklyn]

Do a hotspot of just the black circle - that black opening should be pretty much immune from shadows and anything but something going in and out of the hole.

I've tried that, with little/no success since the limb sways in the wind ever so slightly. The owl house is on one of the bigger limbs to minimize swaying but it does move enough to always trigger. I've tried small hotspots and larger ones with no consistent luck.

 

[wittaj]

Could you do just a few pixels that would allow some movement and still be all black?

What about edge vector?

 

[marklyn]

Could you do just a few pixels that would allow some movement and still be all black?

What about edge vector?

I'm pretty sure I've tried a few pixels and edge vector before but I just set 2 hotspot pixels and turned on edge vector. Problem is that I"ve tried so many combination of things over the past 6 months I might not be 'hitting' on the right combination of settings.
Today is a windy day so let's see.

 

[wittaj]

Yeah, that looks like a tough spot to eliminate most triggers.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Maybe keep notes of what you do?

 

[wittaj]

Maybe keep notes of what you do?

That takes all the fun out of it