The Wi-Fi Birdhouse Project: Three summers of backyard telemetry

Three years ago, the kids and I decided to put up a birdhouse in our garden, with a small twist: mounting a compact Wi-Fi camera inside the roof so we could follow whatever moved in without disturbing the nest.

We started with a simple wooden birdhouse from Biltema, some leftover exterior paint, and a basic Wi-Fi camera wired up under the eaves. The kids painted the exterior while we debated what kind of birds might move in.

During the first season in 2022, the birdhouse stood completely empty. The following spring, however, a Great tit (Talgoxe) pair moved in, giving the whole family a front-row livestream of nest building, egg hatching, and the chicks growing up before fledging.