Camera for back deck

[Mike Nolan]

I just put in a Roku outdoor wireless camera on our deck so we can watch the birds during the day and the animals at night.

Here are my initial thoughts on it.

The base unit on the one I initially ordered wouldn't sync up with my network, after a lengthy chat with Roku tech support, they agreed it was DOA and it was returned (through Amazon.)

The second one came yesterday (5/3) and the sync process worked fine, though it did take several tries before it successfully logged into my home wifi network. I have the camera on my back deck so we can watch the birds and animals out there.

It says it is 1080P but the image is slightly grainy or blurry on a 24 inch monitor, though that's not noticeable on an iPhone. It works well enough that I can see the fox currently on the deck, eating peanuts and we can identify most of the birds. (Grackles, robins and bluejays, mostly.)

A few other things I've noted:

When I play it on my Roku 56" TV, I get video but the sound doesn't come through. (That may be because we're not using the tiny built-in speakers but feed the audio signal into our stereo system.) Standalone Roku devices all seem to work fine.

Also, when I try to watch the video using the Roku website on my laptop, it can't connect to the camera.

Roku says the cordless unit will work for up to 90 days on a charge, but the app tells me the battery is at 61% after about 6 hours. The deck is on the north side of the house, I don't know if adding a solar panel would help much, it doesn't get a lot of direct sunlight.

Another thing worth noting: The Roku app is apparently not available on an Apple TV. I have not tried accessing it from a Mac laptop or a Linux system yet.

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[Joan Simpson]

I like that Mike.

[Italiancook]

Lovely deck, Mike. Are your bird feeders attached to the deck rail? If so, how? Or, are they on poles in the ground?

[Mike Nolan]

Yes, the hanging feeders are attached to the railing, using a pole with a hook, one we buy at the store where we buy our birdseeds. Here's a close-up of how they attach to the railing:

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[RiversideLen]

I like that. I wish I knew what went on in my yard at night. My neighbor told me yesterday that he found a rabbit in his yard minus its ears. I've never heard of an animal taking the ears and leaving the rest of it. I know we have racoons, opossum, coyotes and fox. And I've seen hawks chase the rabbits in my yard; when you see their wingspan up close it's impressive.

[Mike Nolan]

If you have a Roku device (standalone streamer or TV), the camera is currently on sale for about $40, though the cloud storage is $3.99 a month per camera. You probably don't need a Roku device just to view it on a smartphone, though. You do need a wifi network.

That's still a small fraction of what we paid to upgrade the cameras installed around the perimeter of the house and they don't cover all the possible views. I might be getting another Roku camera or two.

For a year or so we had a Cooper's Hawk patrolling our back yard, chasing birds and squirrels, and possibly rabbits. Based on feathers and fur I've seen in the yard, I think he was doing OK. I haven't seen him up close lately, but I think I saw him in a neighbor's tree last fall. He did crash into some of our window a couple of times, and spent about a half hour sitting on the balcony railing driving the birds and squirrels crazy once.

Last night I saw another fox on the deck and a couple of raccoons standing on the back patio waiting for the fox to leave. I was expecting some kind of confrontation, but I think the fox slipped past them.

I know the foxes have caught a few rabbits, we've heard them squealing several times. I don't know if the vixen had a litter this year (last year we had a pair of them), I haven't seen any younger foxes yet but they may not be ready to be escorted around by their parents yet.

[BakerAunt]

We haven't been able to put out bird feeders this past year because there is a cat patrolling the neighborhood. It cleared out the chipmunks last autumn, catching at least one and causing the rest to leave. I miss being able to feed the birds.

In the past two years, we had rabbits, but this year they are not in our yards. We do have a young groundhog, and I saw a possum one day after we had the storms. We have a red squirrel and the usual other squirrels. We also have deer on the terraces, so my husband has had to protect some of the plants there.

Scott thought that there were swans on the lake yesterday. They turned out to be pelicans, a rare sight here.

[Italiancook]

Sorry I took so long to respond to your gracious photo of how your bird feeders are attached, Mike. I've been investigating where I might buy that set-up & wanted to respond after I found it. No such luck. Instead, I'm going to show your photo to my yard man. I believe he has the skills and tools to fabricate one for me. Thanks for letting me see yours.

[Mike Nolan]

Here's what I found when I searched for ''bird feeder hook for deck post":

https://www.bestnest.com/product/Erva-Vertical-Deck-Mount-Hanger-for-1-to-15-Rails-Black?src=froogle&kw=ERT-WIPHWD&gad_source=4&gad_campaignid=20509994768&gclid=CjwKCAjwiezABhBZEiwAEbTPGOMIbfGcJzwP1VDA7GpkVN-4YL--KMyCgCSW-XVglc8mWfoIQ1nQYxoC1CUQAvD_BwE

This may not be the only brand of them, I can ask the folks at Wild Bird Habitat in Lincoln about it tomorrow.

[Mike Nolan]

They turned out to be pelicans, a rare sight here.

The American white pelican has been seen with increasing frequency in the Great Lakes area recently.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike. No matter how many times I say I'm going to get there, I'm just not in the modern age when I need or want something new. I never think about searching the internet for it. I just call around to local stores, and if none of them have it, I scratch it off my list of needs/wants. So thanks for your research, Mike, and for telling me the words you used to search.

[BakerAunt]

We had our first rabbit in the yard this season, so they are around.

We did see pelicans a couple of years ago at one of the wildlife refuges, passing through on their way elsewhere. I'll let my husband know that they are showing up more around the Great Lakes.

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