The Jollyville Screech Owl House Live Stream

What kind of cameras do I use? My inside cameras and the outside camera that looks at the street are the Hawk Eye HD Nature Cam from . They are relatively easy to install and have an adjustable focus so you can get sharp detail at the distance you choose. But I haven’t purchased any new cameras from there for a few years now because I was unhappy with my last purchase. I’ll tell you why. The cameras have a sensor inside that measures the ambient light available to the camera and at a certain point, switches from daylight to darkness mode, or vice versa. That happens twice a day at twilight. I want that change to happen in one smooth motion at twilight. The cameras you are watching do that. The last cameras I purchased from Bird House Spy Cam had different sensors. The internal sensor would spend fifteen minutes or so debating – is it daylight or is it dark? – and the sensor would make the view cycle every five seconds or so, changing from a daylight view to a night view and back repeatedly until it reached a decision. It was very difficult to watch, and twilight is the time that our owls are preparing to leave for the evening or return in the morning. It turned out the manufacturer had used different sensors in that batch of cameras and all of them cycled in the same way. So, before you purchase, I strongly recommend you contact them and ask if the cameras cycle smoothly at twilight. The very bottom of their home page includes both phone and email contact information. If you purchase the Hawk Eye HD Nature camera, you’ll also need the cable sold with it. Then you’ll need a way to connect that cable to your TV or computer, so look for an RCA input to digital output converter device. That device will generally include some basic software so you can view your camera on a screen. FYI, I have several cables running up to the box or into the tree. They all drop to the ground at the base of the nest box tree and then go into a buried conduit. The conduit protects them on the way to my house. Then they come into my house through a hole drilled in the wall and plug into a 4-channel digital video recorder (the kind used for a home security system). Finally a digital signal comes out of the dvr into a computer with an El Gato Video Capture card. To stream, I use Open Broadcast Studio to pick up the video and transmit it to You Tube. Bookmark the stream link for easy access: Welcome to Jollyville, home of Alton and Phoenix, a mated pair of eastern screech owls that choose to use this nest box. Jollyville is located in northwest Austin, Texas, USA. How big are screeches? If Phoenix stands up straight she might make 8 inches (20cm). She likely weighs about 6.5 ounces (184 gm). Alton is a little smaller in both height and weight. Still, unless they are together it can be hard to tell them apart. If you are able and feel inclined, you can contribute to Jollyville using this PayPal link: What costs has Jollyville incurred? Lots of mice to feed owlets. Many cameras, a computer with good video processing abilities, ladder rentals to reach the cams in the tree, and a host of costs to build the box itself.