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The Birdcam was an Aiptek Pencam Trio VGA attached via a USB cable, looking out the window from the computer room. When I switched from XP to Win7 in April 2010 the drivers wouldn't work, so it's retired now and replaced with a Rosewill RCM-8164. Suspended from the ceiling, used alone the view is like this:

Which obviously doesn't work too well. So it has a pair of 10x32 binoculars in front of it, nothing very high tech:

Prior to April 2010, I was using a pair of 7x35 binoculars.

Software: Currently the video streaming server is Yawcam. It also serves up still images like its predecessor. From March 2002 to April 2010, I used Webcam2000 which served up an image at a time.

The main feeder contains black oil sunflower seed, with four perches and a tray. It holds about 25 lbs., which lasts 6-8 weeks. The perches are used mostly by chickadees, titmice, finches, downy woodpeckers, and nuthatches. They are sloppy and some seeds fall onto the tray below, which is mostly used by cardinals (in the photo), doves, juncos, and finches.

The bottom section sometimes contains suet, which is mostly used by downy woodpeckers and red bellied woodpeckers (in the photo), though nuthatches and wrens visit it as well.

The razor wire draped around the dogwood tree discourages the squirrels from jumping onto the tray. The feeder's roof overhangs the tray so squirrels cannot drop off the top to it -- they must jump across from the tree. The tray is mounted on a pulley, using the bottom section (filled with aquarium rocks) to just balance its weight. Squirrels jumping onto the tray weigh much too much, and immediately fall off. The tray edges are spring loaded so squirrels can't grab onto them, either. The geometry of the feeder top section is such that there is nothing for squirrels to grab onto.

The post feeder surrounds the lamp post which prevents the squirrels from climbing up the post onto the tray. Mixed feed is in the birdhouse shaped feeder and spread around the tray, and nyger thistle is in the separate compartment on the right. Used mostly by juncos, sparrows, doves, and bluejays.


Still, some squirrels figured out how to catapault themselves underneath from the post onto the shelf. The latest incarnation extends the sides, which does successfully prevent them from reaching it.

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