Well, it has been quite a week and the visits to my box have been regular and actually increasing! The pair have spent up to half an hour in the box, interacting, snoozing and generally chilling. They seem very comfortable in there.
My i-catcher console package means that I don’t miss a minute of the action and I can also screen capture as well as record video clips. Here are a selection of screen captures from the last few nights..
On Friday, I mounted a new high res camera in the box. Previously, I had hurriedly installed a standard res one, as it was all I had spare at the time and needed to get something in there. As the birds are not there in the day, I was able to climb up and swap the camera over. This cam is a new one which I am selling in my shop. It is produced by Gardenature. It is suitable for lots of wildlife projects, from standard nest boxes, on feeders (as long as it is protected from the weather) and in a large box like this. I do have some additional IR in the Barn owl Box, reflecting off of the ceiling to give a better, even coverage and to stop ‘burn-out’ on the white owl.
This new camera is SO much better and I am thrilled with the images now. The next struggle was to get the sound working through i-catcher and my video server. After some playing around with the settings, it was all up and running and it has added a whole new dimension to my recordings now. It is SO wonderful to hear the sound the male makes and the gentler chattering the female is making.
When you see both of the birds in the nest box, it is easy to identify the male from the female, As in many birds of prey, the female is larger than the male. In my case, the female also looks darker and is more speckled. I am beginning to get better at recognising which one is in the box now.
Here are my most recent clips, all with audio…. I am sure you will agree, it is fantastic to be able to see and hear these beautiful pair interact!
This camera is live streaming every night on the front page of my website. On the whole, the owls seem to be visiting in the early hours of the morning. Having said that, the male appeared briefly just before 6pm tonight!
Let’s hope next week brings equally exciting visits and captures!