Wildlife cameras ?

[Thepainterswife]

Sorry this isn’t lung related but I know many of you love your gardens and wildlife as much as I do so I’m hoping you can give me some advice . I’m intending to buy a camera primarily to see what wildlife is in my garden when I’m not there , and particularly during the evening/night . It would need to be easy to set up and operate ( I’m not tech savvy to say the least ) and I would like to see the footage on my phone / smart TV ( is the tv even possible 🤔?) Id welcome any recommendations or advice please . Thank you 😊

[peege]

It's definitely possible to get motion activated cameras that go straight to your mobile phone for instant viewing - sorry I can't help with a recommendation though. P

[Blackbird8]

Tapo cameras on Amazon for £30 you can download the app to your phone or tablet ... you screw it to the wall and it runs of wifi so you just plug it in to the mains ☺️💙

[Thepainterswife in reply to Blackbird8]

Sorry I’m being so stupid but your saying screw the camera to the wall ? Then plug it into the mains ? Hubby did buy a tiny one for about £40 ( I think it’s called a dragon) last year but there were no written instructions and he just couldn’t figure out how to use it - it only has two buttons and he can’t even switch it on 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 I thought if we paid a bit more we might get something really simple . Also it has a memory card so I’m thinking would need a lap top and ours has just died which is why I really want something that works with a phone .

[Blackbird8 in reply to Thepainterswife]

Yep mines works with my phone... screw the camera where you want it to go ... download the app to your phone..plug the camera in and of you go ...Mines are mounted on the walls outside and we pass the wires through a window plug it in ..👌☺️💚

[Thepainterswife in reply to Blackbird8]

That’s sounds great 😃 problem is my wildlife garden is across an unadopted back st , strange I know but the cottage was built in the 1800’s , a row of five and each one had its own patch of land ( presumably to grow veg) across this back . It’s since been made into just two areas and I have one . Beyond the garden is open country so plenty wildlife but sadly no electric . The small garden at the rear of the house is mostly paved with plants in pots but it does have a high hedge so we do get birds and once a hedgehog 😃 so for £40 would be worth putting one there . Thank for the info 🤙 x

[CDPO16]

We have a battery operated trail camera that can be strapped to a tree or fence. It has a motion sensor and records during the night. The recording thingy (not tech savvy either) can be downloaded onto a computer, not sure about a phone. Sorry that I don't know the make but if you Google trail cameras a selection should come up.

[Thepainterswife in reply to CDPO16]

Yes I’ve done that and they look really good but as they re over £100 I wondered if anyone can tell me if they’re compatible with the I phone . They all seem to mention memory cards which makes me think they aren’t . I think I might have to invest in a new lap top too , seems a lot of money to see ( or not to see) a hedgehog , but I do love my wildlife 🦔🦔🦔😃

[CDPO16 in reply to Thepainterswife]

Sorry that I couldn't answer your question about I phones but ours definitely has a memory card.

[Nickcv in reply to Thepainterswife]

I have outdoor wireless security cameras which need a memory card card to store recorded footage. With out removing the memory card I am able to view the footage on both my PC and Android phone. The memory card needs formatting before it is full which is again done via the PC or phone with out the need to remove it from the camera.

[Thepainterswife in reply to Nickcv]

We are about to have security cameras fitted so may be worth a chat with the guy. My problem is the garden area I’m thinking of is quite away from the house but I can still connect to our WiFi there so maybe not a problem 😊

[Izb1]

It may be worth a trip to the camera shop. We have a good one in the city centre and they are so helpful. If you buy the camera from them I am sure they would show you how to work it, you would then have a choice of camera with advice on each one. Good luck x

[Thepainterswife in reply to Izb1]

Never thought of that I’m so used to buying online I forget we have shops 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

[Izb1 in reply to Thepainterswife]

Ha! providing they haven't gone bust x

[Thepainterswife in reply to Izb1]

Yes it’s very sad , I’d love to support local businesses and the high street but being in isolation for so long I seem to have adopted a completely different way of life . I spend most of my day in the garden ( in the summerhouse reading or watching the wildlife if weathers not good) and buy absolutely everything on line and I’ve become very content in my new lifestyle . I’m sure there are many more like me which is bad news for the shops ☹️

[Izb1 in reply to Thepainterswife]

Yes , its a shame that we are shopping more on line, although I do like to try things on without the hassle of taking them back. It would help if I handn't put on weight and then wouldnt need anymore clothes. I have been sat about far too much and am trying to get on with things now and hope to see some results soon x

[Thepainterswife in reply to Izb1]

Now I hate trying things on in shops , if in doubt I usually go for a bigger size and take it in if I have to - would be easier to go in a shop and buy the right size I know 😂. Good luck with the getting fit/ in trim I think we’re all feeling like that now the weathers improving and restrictions are lifting - every cloud has a silver lining and lockdowns was we could eat what we wanted , bin the scales and do less cleaning unfortunately now we re thinking “omg where did that 1/2 stone come from and why is my carpet always full of dog hairs 🤔😆x

[Izb1 in reply to Thepainterswife]

Lol yes, think the sun has made us get up of the chair x

[Alberta56]

That sounds a lovely idea. I can't help on the techno front, ( still think cameras were more user friendly when they mechanical and used film), but I think we all deserve some treats after lockdown, so go ahead, spoil yourself and enjoy the wildlife. xxx

[Thepainterswife in reply to Alberta56]

Yes I agree , although I seem to remember a lot of pictures of feet, headless people or two photos on top of each other on dads box brownie 😂

[Alberta56 in reply to Thepainterswife]

My mum was a genius at decapitating people. I had 2 box cameras, but the love of my photographic life was my first 35mll camera, very primitive by modern standards, but I got some good shots with it. Happy hunting for hedgehogs and anything else that comes around. xxx

[GShep64]

Ring .. camera Brill . Bit more expensive - But I have screen in the house . Can see on phone . Let’s me know what’s mooching . Camera . ( got 2 . -Doorbell 1 . And camera for wildlife . Catches the fox at night & hogs . 😁really good 👍🏻. . Pay monthly . But well worth if can afford ..

[jackdup]

There are a myriad of cameras that will do what you want. They will either have a memory card to record to, a base station that has a memory card that the camera either wired or wirelessly sends the video to where it is recorded, or the company has a cloud service where the video is stored. Most companies charge for the cloud storage. Some use batteries which in most cases have to be removed to charge and others plug in for power. You will need to download the appropriate app for the brand and models of cameras you get. Most will detect motion and send an alert to your phone and some allow you to detect and alert you to vehicles, humans, animals or all of them. The battery powered ones generally only record when the detect motion to keep from wearing down the battery too quickly, but from my experience by the time the camera detects motion and starts to record whatever triggered the motion may already be gone or you just see the tail end of what happened. The ones that plug in generally can be set to record continuously or only when they detect motion. If you have it record continuously then you can use your phone to go back and look at the video generally for a few days, depending how large the memory card is. When the card gets full it will record over the oldest video and keep recording in a loop. The ones that record continuously will allow you to go and look at all of the video or will show a list of motion alerts and then you can just select one of the notifications and watch that selected segment of video. Most give a pretty good description of what they do and what they detect and more expensive isn’t always better so read the descriptions to be sure they do what you want and also look at the return policies so you can return it if you find it isn’t satisfactory for your needs.

[Thepainterswife in reply to jackdup]

Thank you so much for all that info , it’s very helpful , I think I have a bit of research to do 😊

[watergazer]

Sounds like a wonderful idea Wish I could give advice. X

[Thepainterswife in reply to watergazer]

It would be lovely to see what’s going on , we ve had a hedgehog house for about 12 months and I know something was in there over winter . I used to leave screwed up newspaper for bedding outside and it was always dragged inside 😃Hubby’s just making a feeding station out of an old wooden bread bin , he’s even put roofing felt on top and made an arched opening for the entrance 😂

[watergazer in reply to Thepainterswife]

Aww how lovely x

[Yeo58]

We have a trail camera, uses rechargeable batteries and memory, cost about £70 from Amazon. Night vision and motion activated, really clear footage. Do need a laptop to view footage though. It is amazing the night time activities, wildlife that is lol. We’ve found we have three foxes and three badgers visit us most nights and we live on a housing estate!! The camera has allowed me to study and identify each animal. Both our female badgers are feeding young judging their teats. I look forward every day viewing the nights filming, feel very privileged. Hope you find the right camera for your needs

[Thepainterswife in reply to Yeo58]

Wow that’s amazing ! I can’t wait to get started 😬 £70 seems very reasonable although I think I’m going to have to replace our old lap top . So do you put the memory card into the lap top to view ? (Sorry if I’m being stupid but some seem to do that and others transfer via an app ) Enjoy your viewing, it sounds better than most of the stuff on tv 😊

[Yeo58 in reply to Thepainterswife]

Yes memory card goes into laptop, and your not being stupid, I’m in no way tech savvy myself, I’d be lost trying to use an app etc, don’t see how it works, but find this camera and viewing the footage very easy, and with laptop you can save the most interesting photos and video to laptop. Happy wildlife watching, you never know what you will see!

[Thepainterswife]

Thank you , I’m thinking this is probably the route I’ll go down . I hope I see something as interesting as you do 😃