Birdhouse camera for Watching Birds Inside Your Nest Box
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Do you enjoy watching birds choose a bird house, carry nesting material, and begin raising a family? A birdhouse camera lets you see more than birds flying in and out.
You can watch what happens inside the nest box, from nest building and egg turning to feeding visits and the first movements of young birds.
It is especially useful for backyard birdwatchers who already have nest boxes and want a closer look at nesting behavior without disturbing the birds.
The Hawk Eye High Definition Nature Cam is made for birdwatchers who want to see nesting activity without opening the birdhouse and disturbing the birds.
Hawk Eye High Definition Nature Cam Birdhouse Camera
The Hawk Eye High Definition Nature Cam is a small birdhouse camera that can send live video and sound to your television or computer.
It is useful for nest boxes, nesting shelves, feeders, and other close-up birdwatching setups around the yard.
What You Can See Inside Your Bird House
With a birdhouse camera, you are no longer limited to watching the entrance hole. You can see and hear what is happening inside the nest box while sitting indoors.
Depending on the species using the box, you may be able to watch the female shape the nest cup, see eggs being turned during incubation, hear young birds begging, and notice how often the adults return with food.
This is the kind of behavior most backyard birdwatchers miss unless they have a camera already in place before nesting begins.
Actual Video We Took With the Hawk Eye Nature Cam
We used the Hawk Eye Nature Cam to record a female Cardinal shaping her nest.
Watching the video gives you a better idea of what this type of camera can show when it is placed close enough to the nesting area.
In the video, you can see the bird settling into the nest and using her body to shape the cup.
These small nesting movements are easy to miss from a window, but they become much easier to observe when the camera is close to the nest.
From our setup, the best view came from placing the camera close enough to show the nest cup clearly, but not directly over the bird.
You'll Be Able To Watch
- Mom or dad incubating and turning the eggs.
- Baby birds soon after they break through the shell.
- Young birds begging for food.
- Feeding trips and the types of food being delivered.
- Nestlings growing stronger before they leave the nest box.
- The first attempts to leave the nest.
How the Hawk Eye Bird Cam Works
During the day, the camera sends real-time color video and sound to your television or computer.
At night, the infrared lights allow you to continue watching activity inside the birdhouse without adding a visible light that would bother the birds.
The camera includes a built-in microphone, so you can hear movement, begging calls, and other sounds from inside the nest box.
It also comes with 100 feet of AV cable, giving most homeowners enough length to run the cable from the birdhouse or feeder location back into the house.
Need more than 100 feet of cable? You can order an additional 100 feet when you check out.
Works Outside the Birdhouse Too
The Hawk Eye camera is not limited to enclosed nest boxes. We also used one near a Robin nesting shelf so we could watch the nesting activity and stream the view to the web.
In that setup, the camera was placed to the side of the nesting shelf. That position gave a close view without placing the camera directly over the nest.
If you plan to use the camera outside the birdhouse, this small size gives you more flexibility when choosing a safe viewing angle.
Notice how small the camera is. The one shown in our older setup was not even the high definition model.
A small camera is helpful because it is easier to position near a nest box, shelf, or feeder without making the setup bulky.
Works Day and Night
One of the most useful features of a birdhouse camera is night viewing. The Hawk Eye birdhouse cam uses infrared light, which lets you see what is happening inside the birdhouse after dark.
That matters because nesting activity does not stop when you stop watching.
Birds may shift position, settle over eggs, move around the nest, or care for young during times you would never see from outside the box.
A Helpful Note About Daytime Viewing
I need to be honest here. For the best daytime viewing inside a birdhouse, it can help to have a plexiglass skylight in the roof of the box.
This is especially true when the birds bring in a lot of nesting material. As the nest gets higher, less natural light may reach the inside of the box.
A small plexiglass skylight near the top of one side or the other can help brighten the view during the day while still allowing the camera to use infrared for night viewing.
This does not mean the camera is only useful with a skylight. It simply means the view may be better in some nest boxes when extra daylight can enter from above.
I drilled a 1 1/2 inch hole toward the top of the right side that faces south, then covered it with an opaque piece of plexiglass.
It allows light through, but birds and people cannot see through it.
Good for Children, Grandchildren, and Homeschoolers
A birdhouse camera can turn nesting season into a simple nature study.
Children can keep notes on when nest building begins, how many eggs are laid, when the eggs hatch, and how often the adults bring food.
Instead of only reading about nesting, they can watch the process happen in real time.
That makes the activity more memorable and helps young birdwatchers understand why nest boxes should not be opened or disturbed during active nesting.
Track Your Birds Through the Nesting Season
- How many days nest building takes.
- What nesting materials are used.
- How many eggs are laid.
- When the eggs hatch.
- How often adults bring food.
- What kind of food is delivered.
- When the young birds are close to fledging.
This can be especially helpful for monitoring a backyard Bluebird house, a nesting shelf, or even a Purple Martin colony where you want to observe behavior without constantly handling the housing.
Best For Birdwatchers Who Want to Observe Without Disturbing the Nest
The Hawk Eye Bird Cam is a good fit for backyard birdwatchers who want a closer look at nesting behavior while keeping the nest itself undisturbed.
Once the camera is mounted and tested, you can watch from indoors instead of repeatedly walking up to the birdhouse. That is better for viewing and less disruptive for the birds.
Great Gift Idea for a Birdwatcher
The Hawk Eye Bird Cam can make a thoughtful gift for a birdwatcher who already has nest boxes, feeders, or a favorite nesting spot in the yard.
It can be especially meaningful for homebound bird lovers, grandparents who enjoy sharing nature with children, homeschool families, or anyone who wants to watch nesting birds from indoors.
Once it is installed, the camera can be used season after season.
Not Just for Birdhouses
Although this camera is especially useful for nest boxes, it can also be used near feeders, nesting shelves, or other wildlife viewing spots.
Mount it near a hummingbird feeder, sunflower seed feeder, or sheltered nesting area, and you can watch close-up bird activity without standing at the window.
Easy Installation
Installation is straightforward, especially if you plan the camera location before nesting season begins.
- Mount the camera inside the nest box, near a feeder, or beside the nesting area you want to watch.
- Run the 100-foot cable from the camera location back to the house.
- Connect the cable to your television or computer setup.
- Test the view before birds begin using the box.
- Adjust the camera angle if needed, then leave the setup alone once nesting starts.
The best time to install and test a birdhouse camera is before the birds choose the box.
That gives you time to check the picture, cable route, and camera angle without disturbing an active nest.
Final Thoughts Before You Buy
A birdhouse camera is not just another birding gadget. It gives you a view most people never get to see: what happens inside the nest while birds are building, incubating, feeding, and raising young.
For the best results, install it before nesting season, test the view early, and consider a plexiglass skylight if your nest box is dark inside during the day.
