A Birdhouse Spy-Cam Hawk-Eye HD Camera installed in a nest box.

Viewing a live feed from a miniature camera that’s positioned inside a favorite nest box (bird house) is an exciting way of monitoring the nesting activities of cavity nesting birds. Some cameras provide still photos, most provide video recordings or live camera feed. Nest cams are most commonly installed in larger nest boxes, including those used by Wood Ducks, kestrels, screech owls, or Barn Owls, but almost any bird house can be fitted with a mini-cam so you can photograph, take videos, or view the nesting activities of birds you attract to your property, including bluebirds, wrens, and chickadees.

Please consider this an introduction to finding, selecting, and using a nest box cam. The activity is still in something of an infancy, so we will all continue to do some research on products and processes as better products emerge. Most nest box cameras are relatively small and economical, so you can’t expect high-quality images, but they are satisfactory for nest box spying. Keep an open mind and an appreciation that nest box photography has limitations as part of the process of searching for your preferred camera and methods.

An important option to keep in mind during the shopping process is how you wish to view your nest box photography. Are you looking for a live feed that you can view on the go with your cellphone? Or is a home-based computer your preferred viewing site? Some models provide a video connection to view on your television screen. All these are interesting options, so see what’s available and make your personal selections. Overall, trying to find the perfect camera to use in a nest box can be a challenge because all of the available options have a different set of strengths and weaknesses.

In some cases, you may even need to build a specialized nest box to accommodate your preferred nest box camera. Or, you may need to re-position a nest box to a location that provides easy access to a power source, a monitor, and Wi-Fi connections. Yes, it can get involved, but there are a couple “plug-n-play” models that are fairly easy to use with a minimum of installation concerns.

We’ve assembled an assortment of interesting products for you to see, along with some aspects of bird house photography to consider in advance and during your product search and implementation. Best of all, we offer a couple websites below that will provide equipment reviews, installation tips, and viewing options – all while keeping the birds’ best interests in mind.

Here’s a top pick from a number of reviewers: The Birdhouse Spy Cam Hawk Eye HD Camera at https://www.amazon.com/Birdhouse-Spy-Cam-BCAMHEHD-Camera/dp/B00H8CHCA4?creativeASIN=B00H8CHCA4&linkCode=w61&imprToken=iX8171KlpxNfRGzixXKHrA&slotNum=0&tag=top10786-20&sp_asc_r=1

Plus a “wireless” Hawk Eye model at https://www.amazon.com/Birdhouse-Spy-Cam-Hawk-Eye-Wireless/dp/B006JECZ6I?creativeASIN=B006JECZ6I&linkCode=w61&imprToken=iX8171KlpxNfRGzixXKHrA&slotNum=12&tag=top10786-20&sp_asc_r=1

Perhaps the best suggestion we can offer is to take a look at several remote mini-cameras geared specifically for nest box photography; please refer to an interesting product review article at https://muchneeded.com/top-10-best-bird-watching-cameras/ (along with a few models that are better for feeder photography).

A plug-n-play NestCam bird house is offered by BirdGazer and can be reviewed at http://birdgazer.net/products/

In addition to using a camera inside a nest box, it’s often interesting to monitor what happens from outside the nest box. Outside, you can set up a trail cam or another camera model that utilizes ambient light, or if you have a pair of owls using a nest box, you will want an infrared camera outside, and inside. You can see a number of Wingscapes models, including time-lapse cameras, at https://www.wingscapes.com/products/cameras

The Cornell Lab’s NestWatch website provides a fine overview of planning, selecting, and installing a nest box camera, along with other helpful information, some of it in a slide-show format, which is provided at https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/installing-a-nest-box-camera/

All in all, we hope this introductory article inspires you to take a look at the options and give a nest box camera set-up a try. We all look forward to the coming nesting season, and we thank everyone who supports cavity nesting birds by providing them with additional nest sites in the form of bird houses and nest boxes.