I already have one tawny nest box up here at Gwyllt Hollow. I often hear a pair in the garden, so I am keen to offer them some options to nest here. After the success of my tawny box at Yew View, I wanted to build a box that was similar to that, that would offer two camera options... one inside, at eye level and one on the outside.
I started by mocking up the dimensions of the box in cardboard. This means I can experiment with size, positioning with entrances and camera angles before I commit to cutting it out for real. I am lucky enough to have a beautiful hollow tree trunk section that I planned on using for the entrance.
The hens are always around to offer advice....
Once I was happy with the dimensions, I cut out the marine plywood I already had and made up the box. I would add a camera at one end, so needed to cut a hole out at the far end, to allow me to build and attach an external box to house the camera and all the cabling.
Once I had made the box, then I added the internal camera, wired it up to my PC and played around, to get the camera angle I wanted. I then lined the box with natural materials, to create an internal image that looked pleasing to the eye and would provide a suitable and attractive nest site to tawny owls.
After much deliberation, I chose a tree at the top of the quarry. This has a large branch out to the front, a clear flight path in and is surrounded by the woodland part of my site. With friend, Jerry round to help me, I trimmed off some bits of the tree and, using the cardboard box template, we created a platform for the new box to sit on
With the platform finished, I put the final touches to the box to ensure it was watertight and that the camera was exactly how I wanted it. It is essential that this is all sorted down on the ground, as it is really hard to do when you are up a tree!
I built the roof and spent nearly a day creating the exterior camera angle, by creating an arm on which it was mounted. This little PTZ camera will allow me to both monitor the outside of the box, but also the turn around and look at the whole branch in front of the nest box.
I also created the box so different parts could be removed and added in situ as it was heavy and it was going to take quite a bit of effort to get this box up.
With Jerry back here, we began the plan of how to get the box up and how we would film the whole process. With Jerry's previous job being an ITV cameraman, it was going to be a chance for me to create a documentation a bit different to my usual videos where I film it all myself. Jerry had lots of ideas as well which was brilliant... but would my very basic editing skills be up to the job? I guess the only way I am going to get better is to get in there and have a go......
I am thrilled with the box, the camera images I am getting and all we need now is a tawny owl! Keep your fingers crossed.....
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