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Click on the question that is the closest match for the subject that you are interested in, or just scroll down the page to find the question yourself...
How much is your postage and packing?
How is the box lit and does it use infra-red at night?
Do you get good pictures for the whole of the day?
Do I need a video capture card to view the box on a computer?
Can I convert an existing box that currently doesn't have a camera in?
Does the Euresys Video capture Card need the iCode iCatcher Software?
What are the boxes made of, and are they painted?
Have the website pictures been enhanced?
Wireless technology versus cabled?
When do I clean out an old nest?
Will the plastic lid cause the birds to get too hot?
Question: How much is your postage and packing?
How much is your postage and packing?
Answer.
Postage and packing to send a box anywhere in the UK (including The Highlands and Islands etc) is £10.
Question: How is the box lit and does it use infra-red at night?
I'm confused about how the box is lit. Is there a light in the box or does the only light come through the plastic roof panel.
Does your camera record with infra-red at night and do the birds do anything at night?
Answer.
No lighting is required for our design of box, it uses natural light that comes through the plastic lid during daylight hours.
We have found that it produces much better colour pictures that way. The camera does not record images in the dark,
and not much happens then anyway except roosting and then the bird just sits.
Question: Do you get good pictures for the whole of the day?
Do you get good pictures for the whole of the day?
Answer.
At the end of May last year we recorded some images... We recorded monochrome pictures from 5am through to about 5:30am when the colour kicked in.
The colour was fully there by 6am and lasted until about 7:15pm and gradually faded to monochrome by 8pm and the picture disappeared by 8:40pm,
click here to see the pictures.
Question: Do I need a video capture card to view the box on a computer?
Can the box be connected to a computer monitor without the need to buy one of the video capture cards?
Answer.
To connect to a computer, the constant stream of information coming from the camera needs to be chopped up into frames
which is why a video capture card is required. We use the card that we sell on our website (it can have 4 cameras connected).
There are cheaper cards available but the ones we looked at they either don't handle more than one camera or were inferior quality.
Note that if you buy any of the iCode software or the Euresys video capture card from us you won't pay any delivery charges on the whole order.
Question: Can I convert an existing box that currently doesn't have a camera in?
I have been looking at your camera boxes; but I already have a bird box that I'm thinking of converting by getting all the parts from you.
Can you advise?
Answer.
Our Bird Box is designed specifically to have a quality colour camera fitted.
It's designed to allow enough light into the box to get the good pictures that we do.
If you are going to buy the "kit" and not a "complete" box you would need the very low light version of the camera
(with the 0.005 Lux filter fitted which is the same price as the 0.05 filter).
The very low light version is more sensitive to light but the colours are not quite as good as with the 0.05 Lux filter.
Basically, you won't get the colour we do without a box that lets the same amount of light in.
You would also have to find some way of attaching the camera inside the box, our £129.99 box has the camera held in a holder
that points at just the right angle. We don't sell this item as it's specific to our design of box.
We are happy to supply the parts but really would recommend buying the complete box, having spent 3 years refining the design to get it just right.
We are also selling it for what it cost me to build our first prototype three years ago.
Question: Does the Euresys Video capture Card need the iCode iCatcher Software?
Do I need to buy the iCode software as well as the Euresys Video capture Card?
Answer.
No, you can just use the Junior 4 card by itself (without the iCode software) but you don't have the same control over the image processing,
motion detection and interaction with the internet.
For more information on connecting to a PC and also on what we sell, follow this link to our website
Question: What are the boxes made of, and are they painted?
Could you please advise if the boxes are treated in any way, what sort of thickness of (I presume) plywood they are made from and if,
should it be desired, they could be stained or painted?
Answer.
The boxes are made from 12mm external grade beech wood ply. They are treated on the outside with a pastel green wildlife friendly
stain that protects the timber. You could paint them if you wish but make sure that the paint you use is OK for contact with
wildlife (the birds do peck around the entrance hole). The inside of the box is untreated.
The roof is made from a white translucent plastic that lets light into the box to allow us to get such good colour pictures
from the camera - the birds don't mind the extra light at all.
Question: Have the website pictures been enhanced?
I'm looking at your web site and cannot believe the quality of your bird box shots.
If the shots have not been enhanced with a very high level software program or there is not any additional lighting in the box they are
better than a 5 meg pixel camera with flash.
I have a good CCD camera in a colour camera nest box linked to my computer and TV but my pictures are very poor compared to yours.
Answer.
The 40 individual photos on the website have been cropped (to cut off the overlaid text that we add to every photo on the computer)
and then saved by the cropping software.
At the beginning and end of the day the colour quality diminishes (click here to see the pictures), but during the day we do get very good quality pictures.
The photos are recorded via a video capture card on the computer. The card is set to record high contrast and colour and medium level brightness.
The real colour we get is achieved by letting lots of light into the box via the polypropylene lid, plus a very good colour camera.
Question: Wireless technology versus cabled?
We have a very large garden and the trees with the nest boxes on are quite a way from the house.
I thought it would therefore be better to have a wireless box so that cables would not be coming across the garden if this
wouldn't be too horrendously expensively. As I know nothing about these things I do need some advice and should be very greatful
if you could contact me and let me know cost etc. We have blue tits and flycatchers nesting in the boxes most years.
The box would need to connect to the TV. I look forward to hearing from you with your advice and suggestions.
Answer.
We have decided not to continue selling a wireless bird box for a few reasons.
We investigated a number of wireless transmitters and receivers and we concluded that they did not match the cabled equipment for quality of image.
Also, computers and home wireless computer equipment (which is on the increase), rain, leaves and walls all interfere with the signal.
If possible, we would advise a cabled system eliminating the need for batteries and recharging equipment and it is also much cheaper.
We now have five cabled boxes in our garden with which we are completely happy.
The cabled system comes with 20 metres of cable, it can be extended easily to up to 100 metres by adding in extra sections of 20 metre cable.
In our experiments we would say (although it's hard to quantify) to expect a loss of about 5% per extra section of cable.
The 20 metre cable gives excellent results and we would be happy to use up to 60 metres and still publish the pictures on our website.
At 80 metres (and even a 100) you still get good pictures but compared to the 20 metre cable, the image isn't quite as sharp.
Click here to have a look for yourselves.
Question: When do I clean out an old nest?
I have had a pair of blue tits nest in my homemade nesting box and it was a revelation to see there antics and the first flights of the
offspring; but now I have visited your site, it has revealed so much more.
Should I remove all the material in the box so that it is empty for next year or should I leave well alone?
Answer.
We recommend that the box is cleaned out in the autumn (in fact it is illegal to remove unhatched eggs from the nest from the
end of January to the beginning of August and any eggs that are removed must be destroyed).
Use very hot water (don't scald yourself though) and don't use any insecticides.
Question: Will the plastic lid cause the birds to get too hot?
It appears that this bird box has a clear plastic lid, is there a concern with overheating the birds.
Answer.
We have been using this design (or an iteration of it) for the past 2 years.
The good quality pictures are achieved by a combination of the camera quality and sensitivity and the design of the box.
We have never had a problem with the nesting area overheating (pointing the box south or west is not generally recommended anyway).
Last year we had 9 chicks raised (3 of which died in the stampede the day before the rest left the nest),
the year before 7 eggs were laid and 6 hatched and fledged.
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