Every day is a Big Garden Birdwatch in my garden, as I have a network of cameras and I monitor all the feeders constantly! I could have predicted the species that I would record today as I intimately know the species that visit! The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is an annual event and, for four decades, the Big Garden Birdwatch has recorded the visitors to our British gardens, thanks to increasing numbers of individuals who take part each year. It has highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world and is one of the biggest citizen science project!
Today, I used my network of cameras to record some of the visitors that make up my species count. Some of the cameras are wired IP cameras, that are connected to my PC and run through a piece of software called iCatcher Console. This records 24-7 and I can play it back and lift the footage.
I also lifted footage from the Birdsy camera. I have written about this project throughout last year, as I am working with the team who are producing this amazing bit of software and hardware. Basically the little Birdsy camera, along with a clever piece of software, records all the visitors to a feeding station, saves a video and used AI to ID the species!
The quality on this cam is fantastic and I have captured some lovely clips today! I have two set ups, each with a Birdsy cam monitoring. This first one is using a box I designed for my trail camera. It works well as the camera is inside, with a clear roof to allow light inside and a caged front, to prevent the squirrels and larger species from taking over.
This second set up is using two CJ Wildlife feeders. The cage is designed for a fat ball feeder, but I used it to house one of their other feeders which I like as it has a clear roof and the food is kept dry. Once again, the cage prevents squirrels and larger species from dominating.
It was a grey, rainy kind of day and not the best for birdwatch, but I chose the hour in the day that best represented the visitors in my garden. Missing were the buzzard, jay, carrion crow, song thrush and sparrowhawk, all of which make regular visits to my garden.
My final count of species that I have submitted is:
It is not as high a count as I have had some years, regarding numbers of different species, but a good selection of species!