Amazing pic wins British Wildlife Photography Award - 3rd year in a row!

We have just received news that a good friend of handykam, Doug Mackenzie Dodds has just had great success in the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2011 (BWPA). But wait, this is the third consecutive years of success in a row!

The shot of Malu catching a blackbird chick swept the competition away in the urban wildlife category.

We have long since said that Doug's photography is stunning and great to see him been commended in one of the most prestigious awards around.

Congratulations to Doug and Anna from all at Handykam.com.


Read more
Doug Mackenzie Dodds and his stunning Images - Click here
Daily telegraph article - click here

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Photography award, Doug Mackenzie Dodds, BWPA, British Wildlife photography award.

Making your own camera trap or trail camera

Every fancied how to make your own camera trap or trail camera? Well no problem, wired have created a helpful video clip showing you how. All you need is a digital camera, components and a soldering iron and you are away. Check it out:

How to Make a Camera Trap

More trail cameras and camera traps at handykam.com

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Where has summer gone - Enjoy September

September is here. The sun seems disappearing faster and faster and there is a slight little nip in the evening air. Where has our summer gone?  Not to worry, September great time of the year to:

• Enjoy harvesting wild fruit like apples and blackberries
• Enjoy winter arrivals of birds as well as groups of birds swarming to leave
• Help stock up your feeders for the newborn birds that have come along. Don’t forget your bird feeder camera where you can get up an close to them.
• Start to look for signs of Autumn ie leaves changing
• Put a hedgehog box in your garden for hibernating hedgehogs. Don’t forget your hedgehog camera to see them come and go.
• Put up owl boxes to help roosting owls. Don’t forget your owl camera. They are one of the most amazing things to watch and worth every penny.
• Go beachcombing or rockpooling. With the lower tides and the bigger winter swells arriving, the coastline is a wonderful place to explore for various treasures.

These are some of many exciting things you can do in September....Go for it enjoy it.

More wildlife cameras and wildlife articles at handykam.com

Photo copyright - Thanks and check out Vlado's photos on Flickr

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Watch BBC wildlife film - Heligan: Secrets of the Lost Gardens

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are one of most delightful botanical gardens and wildlife in the UK. The wonder of the gardens are captured in a BBC program, produced by Philippa Forrester and filmed by her husband Charlie Hamilton-James.

Heligan, situated in the corner of Cornwall off the the cost of St Austell, was created by the Tremayne family between C18th and C20th. The gardens were later found and restored and now boast a huge range of plants and wildlife.

The program explores a year in the life of Heligan, capturing the magic of its location and features many of the wildlife characters around the 6 miles of gardens. This program is a much watch for 2011. Check it out - click here

Why not create your own wildlife film with mini wildlife cameras and bird box cameras. We have a range of cameras, giving you a magical view of your garden or property

More information
Watch on iplayer - click here
More about Heligan - click here
Wikipedia about heligan - click here
Filmed by Charlie Hamilton-James and produced by Phillipa Forrester of Halcyon media - click here
Wildlife cameras at handykam.com
* © Wikipedia for photo above

Keywords to help search
Heilgan, Lost gardens of Heligan, Heligan gardens, Wildlife, charlie hamilton-james, Philippa Forrester

Rare mammals caught on trail cameras and camera traps

Nice footage of mammals caught on camera traps and trail cameras around the world from BBC Nature. Have a look, it is worth it.

Trail cameras are historically used to record and document animals around the world. Many research institutions are finding them an extremely valuable for monitoring specie numbers and migration patterns. Today, many trail cameras and camera traps are relatively inexpensive and perfect way of monitoring what is happening in your garden or acreage. We currently supply many organisations with these wonderful devices. Check them out and what they can do.

More info
Article from the BBC Nature - click here
Buy a trail camera or camera trap
Compare trail cameras

Keywords to help search
Trail cameras, BBC nature, camera traps, camera trap, trail camera, camera trap research.

Buying the best trail camera or camera trap

There has been a huge change in remote camera technology over the years. In the early days, they were quite big items and bolted onto an old SLR camera. Today, they have a huge amount of features.

We, at handykam.com look at vast array of trail cameras and camera traps from around the world. To help you choose, we have created a FREE trail camera guide, comparing all features including file sizes and resolutions. This is a fast way to choosing the best trail camera or trail camera for your needs.

Read FREE trail camera comparison.


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An inspection camera can save your business money

Inspection cameras can inspect areas that have a fault, quickly and easily. This is a perfect device for inspections, plumbers, surveyors and more and can save your business a lot of time and money.

When faced with a technical problem, like a blocked drain or lost cable, this can cost many hours in fault-finding, digging and problem solving. With an inspection camera, you can drill a small hole, view or record the footage on a small screen and quickly diagnose the issue without incurring many hours of work or specials equipment hire.

Handykam.com can supply a range of inspection cameras that quickly allow you to inspect a problem and solve it quickly. Having an inspection camera can save you a considerable amount of money in time and resources. Just drill a hole, pop in camera record and then go. Have a look at how inspection cameras can save your business money. More on inspection cams >>

Read more
Inspection cameras and drain cameras
Inspection cameras on Wikipedia – click here

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Time-lapse video - London olympics 2012

Only a year to go to the Olympics. The size and rate of construction of the buildings is amazing. In order to show this, they installed several time-lapse cameras around Stratford area. These took shots every 5 - 10 mins for a few years. The results are amazing: See clips from the telegraph newspaper below:

London 2012 Olympics: Games architecture takes shape

Why not create your own time-lapse footage with a time lapse project cam. It may not be to the same resolution used on the Olympics cameras, however the camera is jam packed with features and very easy and economical to set up. All you do is take it out the box, pop batteries and a memory card in and set the recording timer to a variety of settings and you are away. Perfect for any development, construction project, exhibition setup etc.

More information
Get a time-lapse camera from handykam
More information about the Olympics time lapse cameras - click here
More information from the Telegraph newspaper - click here

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Bee cam, bee webcam inspires 9 year old to take up bee keeping

A nine year old bee enthusiast has been inspired to take up bee keeping, when father sets up a live bee cam. The howling family setup the bee cam and is now also inspiring many others around the world. This is what technology is about. Why not set up your own bee cam and get your friends and family involved.

More information
Create your own bee cam with a camera kit
More about Howling family on BBC - click here
See live Bee Cam - click here
More about bee cams on handykam website

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When is a gull not a gull? When it is a robot.

From Leonardo da Vinci to modern day, they have been trying to recreate the motion of birds. After many years they may be nearly there. Check this footage out. It is stunning:

A robot that flies like a bird

More information
Great article on the Guardian - Flying bird.
More about Smartbird
More news at handykam.com

Keywords used to help search
flying bird, bird robot, bird technology

A birds eye view

Seagull stole camera and takes it on a shoot across the French Riviera skyline. Check this out....

The camera was placed in a garden only to be picked up by a seagull who then is seen flying to its roost. It is then see investigating the camera with a few pecks! The cameraman, was able to locate the camera only to find that it filmed the whole thing.

Read more:
Small bird cameras
Daily Mail article

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bird camera, bird cam, seagull camera,

BBC invisible camera

The BBC film unit developed developed a specialist stealth like movable camera positioned behind specialist 2-way mirrors. The camera is operated remotely and is moveable on remote control caterpillar tracks. The mirrors give the illusion of being part of the scenery, therefore animals do not see the technology. They are able to get up and close without the animals spotting the cameras. Wonderful footage, check out the video below:

Rare black bear captured on Invisible camera.
Black Bear Mother and Cubs - Bears - Spy in the Woods - BBC

You can buy mini wildlife cameras and remote trail cameras at handykam.com

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small wildlife camera, wild camera, invisible camera

Groups of animals or birds

Isn't the English language amazing? We have terms for groups of things depending on what they are. They call these collective nouns. Here are a few for various animals:

• Badgers - A cete of badgers
• Bats - A colony of bats
• Bears - A sloth of bears
• Bees - A grist, hive, swarm, drift of bees
• Birds - A flock, flight, parcel of birds
• Bitterns - A sedge of bitterns
• Budgerigars - A chatter of budgerigars
• Butterflies - A swarm, rabble of butterflies
• Buzzards - A wake of buzzards
• Caterpillars - An army of caterpillers
• Cubs - A litter of cubs
• Dear - A herd of dear
• Dogs - A pack of dogs
• Doves - A flight of doves
• Eagles - A convocation
• Elk - A herd of elk
• Finches - A charm of finches
• Fish - A shoal, school of fish
• Flies - A cloud
• Geese - A gaggle, flock of geese
• Grasshoppers - A cloud of grasshoppers
• Hares - A husk of hares
• Hedgehogs - An array of hedgehogs
• Horses - A stud, string of horses
• Hounds - A pack of hounds
• Rabbits - A husk of jackrabbits
• Jellyfish - A brood of jellyfish
• Larks - A bevy of larks
• Moose - A herd of moose
• Mosquitoes - A herd of mosquitoes
  
• Nightingales - A watch of nightingales
• Partridges - A covey of partridges
• Pelicans - A pod of pelicans
• Ponies - A drove of ponies
• Rats - A colony, pack, swarm of rats
• Seagulls - A flock of seagulls
• Snakes - A den, bed of snakes
• Tortoises - A creep of tortoises
• Walruses - A herd of walruses
• Whale - A school, pod or whales
• Worms - A clew of worms
• Wrens - A herd of wrens
• Zebras - A herd of zebras

As you can see there is a load of them. All brought to you by handykam.com. The home of wildlife cameras.

Words to help search
Groups of animals, groups of birds, collective nouns of birds, collective nouns of animals.

Bird camera - Radio controlled hummingbird with camera

Imagine flying a hummingbird with a built in camera? Well now you can. This new device created by AeroVironment. The 19 grams, 16cm flying device was designed to fly easily inside and outside a building with the need for wires. Simply amazing. Check out the video:

Wildlife cameras and technology for school national curriculum

Schools have changed since my day. (Showing my age now :) ) Bang goes the blackboard and books. Now, technology is revolutionising the classroom with interactive whiteboards and laptops. One aspect of modern learning is the growing need to interact with the outdoors. Today's curriculum encourages our kids to getting out and learning about wildlife around us. However, with technology, they can see, learn and enjoy about wildlife around us, indoors too.

We have many schools using our bird box cameras, wildlife cameras and more. The nice thing is that our systems are easy to use and fit straight into most school IT structures. Most schools like to opt for a bird box camera (Either wired or wireless) and connect them to their computers with a USB or network via a IP converter. The experience is enhanced with advanced motion capture and we streaming software, where they can glue a live feed into their website as well as back it up on a computer too. Some schools are using advanced wildlife inspection cameras like the Meerkam gadget to find wildlife everywhere and record it for later lessons too.

It is so good that schools and colleges are get using technology to learn and enjoy the natural world around us. Hopefully, helping educate and create a thirst for more budding Chris Packham's and Bill Oddies of the future. Great!

More information
National Curriculum information.
Bird box cameras from handykam
ICT network connection ideas

Thanks to
Thanks to all the schools have bought our systems and all the children we have help.
Thanks to South Wales Argus for good article and image on High tech pupils in Newport using our camera nest boxes.

Keyword to help search
Wildlife and national curriculum, wildlife learning, wildlife in classroom, ICT and wildlife, birds and curriculum, classroom technology, IP connection

How to make a bird box

Making a bird box or nest box can be great fun. We should know as we make many thousands every year sending them to all corners of the globe from our unit in Cornwall.

The biggest consideration when making a bird box is deciding what birds you would like to use the box. Most of our domestic songbirds are happy in a box around 15cm-20cm cubed made out of 15cm-19cm of good wood. Birds will certainly nest in most boxes made out of many materials, but a well built box will ensure a new family to use it for many years to come.

First start with a single plank around 150mm x 1170mm. Mark the base, sides, front and roof out off it like the diagram provided. See diagram above.

Fit the box together with nails and screws so they are secure. Also include a couple of holes in the base to allow for drainage and don't include a perch for predators. Include a hinged lid if you want to inspect the camera easily.

Don't forget your bird box camera
Add that little something extra by including a bird box camera. These can be easily fitted by drilling a 5mm hole into the side of the box and fitting one of our wired or wireless cameras to it. The camera are plug in and play, allowing you to monitor and enjoy your birds too. You can also fit windows to your box to allow light into the box, not enough to disturb the birds, but enough for the cameras to see in colour. Perfect....

Go for it, make a bird box today
Making bird boxes are great fun especially with all the family. They are often one of the best, small wooden projects to do as they don't cost a lot and take no time at all. However, you can always buy a complete camera bird box if you pushed for time or it is late in the nesting season. Perfect for you birds and you too.

More info
Please support the BTO - click here
Article on building bird box at BTO - click here
More info on building bird boxes - click here
Handykam bird boxes, nest boxes and camera bird boxes

Credits
Thank you for the BTO for all your good work and picture above.

Keywords to help search
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Choosing a particular bird for your camera bird box.

We are often asked how we can attract certain birds to our camera bird boxes. It really depends on what birds are in your garden, what birds are dominant and the type of bird box you have. A great way is place a multispecies camera bird box in your garden. A handykam.com bird box is perfect as it can be used for most types of our native birds. It has been specifically designed with bird comfort in mind and to all the recommended specifications by the RSPB and BTO.

The key points are to place the box a little bit away from a feeder or feeding station, but with a bit of cover from foliage.  The next key point is to choose whether to have a round entrance hole or open front. Most boxes have a 35mm entrance hole and some camera bird boxes have the ability to remove the middle panel to allow open fronted nesting birds like Wren, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Blackbird, Spotted flycatcher.

With an entrance hole, you have the choice of using a hole sizer or hole protector to help discriminate between certain types of birds. These are metal plates with hole, which can be easily pinned to the entrance hole of the box.  The plates have different sizes that can allow certain bird types to enter the boxes. Here is a guide: Blue tit, Marsh tit, Coal tit – 25mm (1in) Great tit, Tree sparrow, - 28mm (1 1/4in) Nuthatch, House sparrow, Nuthatch – 32mm (1 1/2in)

Choose a hole sizer to match birds you have in your garden and ones you would like to see nesting.

Once sited, leave you camera nest box and keep an eye on it on your TV. Don’t despair if it is not occupied quickly. Most birds take a while to get used to boxes in their territory.

Have fun and enjoy your camera bird box.

More info
Buy a camera bird box
More info about bird boxes from the RSPB – Click here
Build a camera bird box from the BTO – Click here
Keywords to help search
Bird boxes, bird box hole, nest box hole, nest box hole, hole sizers, correct bird box hole, nest box holes, choose hole size, which hole size.

 

Winter freeze drives birds to the UK.

Ever wondered why we have many exotic birds on our shores this winter. It turns out that we are awash with fieldfare, redwings, waxwings and more. This may be due to the severe winters in Northern Europe and Russia. Why not replenish your camera feeder or install a camera bird box and enjoy our new winter visitors.

Read more
Interesting guardian article - click here
Picture acknowledgement - © Flickr
Handykam.com - bird box camera
Keywords to help search
Migrating birds, winter birds, bird watching, bird migration, weather effecting birds.

Give a camera bird box on National Nest Box Week 2011

Birds need our help. During the past few years, many of our native birds have seen a decline in numbers. Sadly this is due to changing habitats and feeding patterns and conditions. One major factor has been our unseasonably strange weather patterns over the past few months. Having a nest box, will not only keep them warm, but will help them raise a brood too. Valentines day gift One major way to help reverse the declining numbers is to put up a nest box. As part of  a national campaign, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) holds National Nest Box Week. This is where they are encouraged to put up a bird box. The campaign starts on valentines day – February 14th 2011 and runs for a week.

Why not get involved.
Read more about bird box week and grab yourself a box. If you want something a little more, why not invest in a wonderful camera bird box. This way you can help your birds and enjoy them too.

Handykam – Supports National Nest Box week. Broods need our help. Adopt a brood today!
More information

Nest box week website – http://www.bto.org/nnbw/index.htm
BTO website – http://www.bto.org
Buy a camera bird box from Handykam.com


Keywords to help search
National bird box week, National bird box week 2011, NBBW, NBBW 2011, BTO Birdbox week, valentines bird box week.
Article based on national bird box week, NBBW, using camera bird boxes and camera nest boxes to help bird numbers this valentines day.

Bird box camera - Connect scart or phono?

We have many customers asking, should we use the scart connector or phono plugs on our nest box camera cable. Good question. This is purely a personal choice.

Scarts are strange shaped plugs with 21 pins. They have become the most common form of connecting av equipment (Like bird box camera cables) to TV's. Most AV equip still has a scart connector, but it will become obsolete when HDMI plugs get popular.

Phono or RCA connectors have been around since 1950's and stood the test of time. They are used for all type of AV equipment and still very popular. Normally the only colours you would use is yellow - video and white - audio.

Both connectors are very good and choice is purely on which one you prefer to use. The ports are often limited on a TV, so a good choice will allow you to connect more AV equipment.

More info
Buy a scart connector - click here
More info about scart connectors - click here
More info about phono connectors - click here

Camera traps find more animals in urban forests

Interestingly, a study into animals in urban areas found that animals seemed to concentrate in mainly urban environments. Could it be the weather, feeding patterns or something else?

When the curator of New York Museum and author with a technology student used camera traps and GPS to document a wide range of wildlife. Camera traps or trail cameras are a perfect way of monitoring animals with disturbing them. They work remotely, triggering a camera through motion sensitive sensor. The footage can then be studied at a later day.

The research shows that through technology there is a lot we can learn and understand about our wildlife and the environment.

Handykam.com is a leading supplier of trail cameras and remote cameras for watching wildlife.

More information
Thanks for the New York Times for the great article and pictures.
More about trail cameras.

Future of wildlife cameras and bird box cameras.

The future is bright, the future is QuantumFilm. This is the new technology that may revolutionise the convention ways of camera sensors. At the moment you get CCD cameras and CMOS cameras. QuantumFilm developed in Toronto.

The technology boasts 4 x the sensitivity with 100% light recorded. The biggest plus is that the cost will be a lot less than conventional light chips.

Can't wait for the release of these. Who knows, we may have a bird box camera with hyper reality, making you feel you are in there with them.
Read more
The article was based on this - click here
Thanks CNET/InVisage technologies for pic. 

About Handykam.com
Leading company in bird box cameras, wildlife cameras and inspection cameras.

Bear bashes £130,000 bear cam

Bear smashes 130,000 remote bear camera while filming a documentary for the BBC.

Wildlife documentaries like 'Polar Bear: Spy On The Ice' are increasingly looking at ways to use camera technology to learn more about the wildlife around us. With a camera you are able to get up close especially if it is disguised as a iceberg or snowball. Sometimes, animals outwit man, however, cameras are getting smaller and more discreet and becoming impossible to spot.

Make your own covert camera for filming
Why not make a wildlife covert cameras to monitor your wildlife or use a trail camera for remote recording.

Keywords to help search
bear cam, covert camera, wildlife camera, bbc camera,