I’d be interested to know if anyone on here has experience using camera traps or other camera systems to monitor open-cup nests of birds (as opposed to nests in boxes). The situation I want to use this method for is in the understory of tropical forest, to collect information on natural history (patterns of incubation, brooding; prey species brought to nestlings) and to identify nest predators.
We have been using Bushnell camera traps, but find that they do not last more than a year or two in often difficult (very wet and humid) tropical forest conditions. I have heard that Reconyx are more reliable, and they come with a five-year guarantee, so perhaps their much higher price is worth it in the long run? However, these sorts of cameras are not set up to focus on birds, and identifying insect prey is not really feasible.
I am also looking into systems that can power a small spy-camera to film 24 hours a day, as many of the predators in this system are snakes that fail to trigger standard camera traps. It would also be a big plus to be able to operate the recorder and change the battery from a distance away from the nest, rather than having to approach the nest to change the card of a camera trap. Mains electricity is not an option, so it will need to be powered by a battery that can be recharged from a solar panel.
Again, if anyone has experience of these systems it would be great to learn from you.
The only similar topic I found was already closed, or I would have posted there:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/time-lapse-sensor-activated-cameras-any-suggestions/6549