Setting Up a Window Bird Feeder Camera

We spend so much time talking about nesting box cameras that it would be an easy mistake to think that that’s the only way to view wild birds in your garden. Not so! For example, another really popular way to get great images is to set up a camera by a bird feeder. By using one of our HD IP cameras, you can connect directly to your router, and log in securely from a mobile device or tablet. This means you can see the birds visiting the feeder in your garden, even when you’re stuck in the office, or away on holiday.

Our bird feeder camera kit provides everything you need to set up your bird feeding station with a camera. 

Perfectly clear shots

Window feeders simply attach to the glass of a window using strong suction cups. This means you can enjoy a really close up view of the birds as they fly up to tuck into their snack. By pairing this up with one of our cameras, you can record pictures in much brighter light, and with more true-to-life colour than is usually possible inside a dingy wooden box.

Usually, where CCTV is concerned, recording through a window is a big no-no. This is because night vision LEDs will reflect back from the glass, hugely obscuring the picture with glare. For a bird feeder, however, you’re basically guaranteed to only have birds visit the feeder during daylight hours, so this won’t post a problem.

Setting up the feeder and camera

Instead of sticking the feeder straight to your window, it’s worth taking a couple of extra steps first to ensure that the birds consider it a reliable source of food. If possible, leave the feeder out for a few days near to an established food source such as a table or hanging feeder. Then start moving it incrementally closer to the window each day. This should mean the birds will already associate the feeder with food, and they will know to come back to it regularly.

It’s also recommended to try and fix the feeder to a window that is close to sources of cover such as bushes or branches. This is because feeding is the time when smaller bird species are at their most vulnerable, so they like to be able to dart quickly back to cover if something spooks them. Finally, we would always recommend fixing opaque decals to the glass either side of the feeder to help indicate to birds that there’s a solid barrier there – you don’t want to record footage of birds flying into the glass, after all…

There are several possible ways to set up the camera. If the window has a thin frame, then you can simply stand the camera up on its bracket on the windowsill, with the feeder attached low down on the other side. In many situations, however, this won’t give a good angle for the feeder, as the camera will be too low down. In this case, the best option is to attach the camera to the glass itself. The best way to do this is with adhesive strips on the bottom of the bracket or a strip of Velcro tape.

Here's our entire range of bird feeder cameras.