I had been interested in using a trail camera to monitor what was eating the produce in the garden. We knew that a rabbit had helped himself to a variety of plants. I added chicken wire to keep him out. That seemed to be working until we had several attacks on the canteloupe last fall.
In at least one case, whatever got the canteloupe climbed the chicken wire fence and pulled the melon from the trellis. That did not sound like rabbit.
Rather than focus on only a trail camera, the Frog got a set of security cameras. These function as true security cameras, but I can also get the enjoyment of watching any wildlife that might wander through. They provide high definition color pictures during the day and infrared pictures at night.
The installation was quite the adventure, requiring the addition of new outdoor sockets for each of the cameras. After lots of conduit and new wire, everything was up and running.
They have worked out great. The security function works perfectly...we had someone unexpectedly in the backyard the first day it was operational (only an unannounced visit from the pest control company for the quarterly treatment). Fortunately true security observations are the exception. Of greater day to day interest is the wildlife. There is more wildlife activity than we ever imagined. Here is just a sampling.
[It is recommended that you watch the videos on a computer rather than a mobile device. There are some additional features (boxes for the location of the camouflaged animals) that are known not to work on mobile devices. Interestingly the boxes appear in the videos on my iPad if viewed from youTube, but not after posting in Blogger.]
Bunny cam. By far the most frequent visitor is a rabbit, who we affectionately refer to as "Bun".
Other wildlife. Bunnies are not the only night time visitors. We frequently see opossums.
and even occasionally a racoon.
It is apparent from these videos that the water dish on the patio is of great interest, at least when it is dry. After seeing this, I moved the chair so it is no longer blocking the view of the water bowl.
We even saw a fox, but that was before I figured out how to capture and save the videos.
Much to our surprise, we have not seen many cats, although this one was an exception.
I think his hasty retreat down the driveway that activated the security light at the end of the video was due to an approaching opposum. It was a busy place that night.
As you can tell, I am having fun with this new toy!!
No comments:
Post a Comment