Wyze Outdoor Cam and Hummingbird Feeder

Interesting. I might have to try that myself.

Not trying to magnify the image. I want everything on my feeder within a range of 3" to 17" to be in focus. Pretty much achieved that. Right now itā€™s focused down to about 4-1/2" to 17". Could not achieve that without a complex setup with another lens. Any add-on lens will lower the quality of the image, and would be a pain to maintain. A simple refocus and Iā€™m done. Same applies to creating my Nest Cam.

The use of a lens filter improves focus without having to open the camera. Think of it like reading glasses. But everybody should use what works best for them.

Here is an example from last year. It is not perfect but I like to use the cam usually only to see when they start to arrive before I set my better ones up. Hummingbird with v2 and lens filter Screenshot below.

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Nice clear shot. My camera is up all year long out in the weather, so the stock setup is a must. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you. I could leave mine out year round too, I guess. I do with the nestbox cams. Since this was a v2, I had to add some weather protection. I put it in one of these outdoor cases and then taped the lens filter on it. Worked well. I tried to refocus a lens on a different camera one time and never got it right so this is a less invasive way to do it for me.

Are your nest cams inside or outside the nest boxes?

Inside. I built special housings on top of the boxes.

Hummingbirds are fun to watch. Sometimes we get buzzed as they pass through our gazebo. This is one that stopped for the paparazzi last summer

Rocket J. Squirrel that my lionhearted chihuahua chased up the tree in our back yard

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Very nice!

Hi Chazā€¦

I am about to buy a few outdoor wyze cameras to make birdhouse (and tree frog) cams. I own numerous indoor wyze cameras.

Can you describe how you reset your lens out a bit further to bring the focus in? I am very interested in doing this to my camerasā€¦ Frogs are small.

For those of you using the Outdoor cam to watch for hummingbirds - do you find out they are there via the Events/alerts? Or are you happening to catch them via the Live View? Iā€™m just hoping that Iā€™m not missing anythingā€¦

front feeder

back feeder

Each cam is about a foot away, Iā€™ve got detection zones on and image sensitivity jacked wayyy upā€¦

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Saw this hummingbird feeder online a while ago and was going to buy it but the reviews pointed out some issues with the design.

image

  1. To fill the feeder, the tube is stood on end, a cap is removed and the tube is filled. But there are holes in the tube where the flowers are so most of the nectar leaks out before you can put the cap on and return the feeder to the horizontal position.

  2. The feeder is suspended by plastic hooks. The feeder sways in the wind, causing the nectar to slosh in the tube and come out of the flowers.

  3. The wall thickness of the plastic tube is so thin it can be squeezed.

Bought these to start

To address the filling issue, I glued a cap on one end, and a 90 degree street elbow with a removable cap on the other end. To fill it, I just remove the cap and use a funnel to fill it

To address the swaying issue, I used a rubber covered clamp at each end which will be attached to a shepherdā€™s hook.

Finally, the tube I bought has a 1/8ā€ wall thickness. Canā€™t do a ā€˜Mr. Whippleā€™ with this.

Coincidentally, as I was drilling the holes at the patio table, a hummingbird visited another of our feeders. They are in southern Illinois

The holes are lined up pretty straight for only having obe good eye.

My plan is to incorporate my v3 solar panel frankenstein contraption poibted at this feeder.

I added a few more flowers and plan to add another row at a 45 degree angle so they can feed from both sides

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Interesting. Now maybe add a long bar to the side and above so they can sit and drink at the same time. I like to use the ones with a perch and they like sitting on them.

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Already changed the design. I like your idea and should be able to add that.

Cut the tube down and staggered the flowers.

@AnnWithAPlan Found these. Might use them instead

image

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My first hummingbird of the year was just spotted on webcam - unfortunately, however, it wasnā€™t caught by an alert (kind of the whole point of getting the cams. Iā€™ll play with the settings for next time.

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@AnnWithAPlan thanks for the suggestion about the perch. :+1:

Version 3

Getting crowded

Waiting on clamps to mount it.

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Now thatā€™s cool!

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Hey folks - Iā€™m getting to be near my witsā€™ end here. Have talked with two different customer service reps. Neither answer theyā€™ve given me has worked.

As you know - hummingbirds. Theyā€™re my jam. Iā€™ve got two Outdoor cams set up - my backyard cam, this is the third time itā€™s failed to pick up a hummer. I happened to be sitting outside about 15 minutes ago and saw one at the feeder - flying in front of the cameraā€¦

Beautiful, but annoying - I originally had the Sensitivity settings set to 25%, as per one CSR. Missed a hummer. Talked to a second - set it to 100%. The camera didnā€™t alert me at all, again, even though it was in front of the cam - both hovering and sitting. What the heck?

hum2

This is the normal camera view - itā€™s not crazy far away, itā€™s not super close.

All looks good there, right??

hum4

Hereā€™s my Detection Zone setup - should that be off? I mean the hummer clearly was in the detection zone from the original photographā€¦

hum5

Iā€™ve got Detects Motion onā€¦

BUT I just realized something as Iā€™m posting this. There was a minute-long non-hummingbird detection (me) that started at 6:03 pm. So 6:04 pm the recording stopped. But three-four minutes later, the hummer showed up (for about a minute). Did the Cooldown settings bite me this time? Iā€™m changing that ASAPā€¦

hum6

Iā€™ve also got Pet Detection on. So yeah.

HELP please!! Iā€™m beseeching you. Any advice? Am I doing something wrong that the CSRā€™s are missing?

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Iā€™m wondering if the hummers are too fast to be captured on the cams? Iā€™m going to put my feeder out and see if the same thing happens.