Technical information
The nest camera was set up by Urmas Sellis (Eagle Club Estonia) and Omar Neiland (Beta Grupp OÜ). We use AXIS F41 camera with a custom-made microphone from Omar. The main body of the camera is below the nest on the tree trunk, but the lens and sensor are at the nest level. We tried to camouflage the camera as much as possible and hid it inside a dry aspen branch. Therefore, the camera remains relatively inconspicuous when seen from the nest. The camera is powered by solar panels. We transmit the camera image via 4G mobile internet, so in case of intensive network use, there may be interruptions in the transmission.
The camera is streamed through the Eagle Club Estonia’s YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/kotkaklubi. We recommend following Kotkaklubi channel in case the broadcast needs to be restarted due to technical errors, which may change the direct link of the broadcast. As the season progresses, Kotkaklubi channel will also feature all other nesting cameras of Estonian eagles and black storks, as well as a capercaillie camera.
The use of the stream from the nest for non-commercial purposes is not prohibited, but please let us know if possible (send a message to urmas(ät)kotkas.ee). Contributors are welcomed with each camera, as some components need to be replaced every year and we do not have any project support for hardware costs.
The camera lens and sensor are hidden inside a dry aspen branch (Photo Urmas Sellis)
White-tailed eagle nest camera team and supporters:
Eagle Club Estonia – nest related actions, camera installation and information
Beta-Grupp OÜ – camera testing and setup, microphone construction, technical support
Looduskalender – forum on the Web
Estonian Fund for Nature – server support
Akukeskus Tartus – battery assistance
Several private donors – to cover unexpected and expected hardware costs
Thousands of viewers – the most important, because otherwise the cameras would not make much sense!