I thought some might be interested to see how the web camera is setup. Below is a photo showing the feeder and the webcam - feeder on the left, webcam on the right. I'm using an Olympus SP-500 6MP camera mounted inside a weatherproof NEMA box. The camera is controlled by USB and powered by a 6v power converter. I have it set to 1024x768 resolution and snapping an image every 12 seconds using SebecTec.com software. The day's images are saved and automatically made into an flv or avi file. As I play them back for review (at 100 image/second) and see something interesting I will note the time and go back and get the original image.
The feeder is located partway inside a lilac bush which I think makes the birds more comfortable by giving them branches to approach the feeder and cover from predators.
I have an acoustic motion sensor that I would like to tie into the process so that when a bird or squirrel shows up I can have it automatically process an image at that time.
The cameras have proven to be very robust outdoors in the cold of winter and heat of summer. I enclosed a small brick of silica gel in the box so that there will be no condensation on the glass when it gets cold.
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