Bonnie, I am not the most knowledgable person about cameras but I work in a store that sells them so I know a few things. A 10 megapixel camera will give you lots of flexiblilty for enlargements and photo editing. For instance, you'll be able to crop out a portion of a picture and enlarge it and still have really good picture quality. Make sure the zoom is "optical" zoom and not "digital" zoom, most cameras now will be. Optical zoom gives you the best picture quality. I like cameras that have a viewfinder. If you do not have a viewfinder and have to depend on the screen only you may find you have glare issues outdoors and it may be hard to see the image you are actually capturing. Consider what kind of batteries it uses. You will find a lot of differences. If it is rechargable, check how it charges. I bought one for my daughter thinking the box included an AC charger and found out it charged through the computer with a USB cable. I ended up buying the AC charger separately. I use a camera that takes AA batteries and that is what I personally prefer. Make sure you get a memory card. The one that comes with the camera will only hold a few pictures. The good news is that most types of memory cards have come way down in price. This is a great time to shop for cameras because most places have them on sale now. I hesitate to recommend a particular brand, I'll leave that to someone else but I checked out one of the new Nikons the other day and was really impressed with the screen clarity. Mine is a Canon Powershot and I really like it, very user friendly. Hope this has helped a little. Mechele

I'm a bit puzzled as to why this 2 1/2 year old thread has popped up again, but I do appreciate all the photography expertise that everyone has shared. PM2, there's a second thread that came after this one if you'd like more info, linked below. I ended up getting a Nikon Coolpix P600 which has a 60x zoom (a bit longer than the 50x Cannon which I also checked out) which I like for long shots of critters in the field. I followed Jane's advice to go and hold a bunch of cameras and try them out, and found both the Canon and the Nikon comfortable, though the Nikon is a bit larger. The Nikon is also slower processing images to get ready for another shot than the Cannon, I think. I am still just beginning to learn to use it, largely using it on the standard landscape setting, though I have started checking out the different options and menus. I most often use it to take photos of critters and scenes we've spotted when we were inside since that's where it's easily available, though I also take it with me when I am going outside specifically to take photos. As Steve said above, "I also use my iPhone a lot because it's in my pocket, and it is often said that the best camera is the one you have with you." It doesn't do a great job on distance or small birds, but it has good color and is great to keep in my pocket to catch some of the surprises I see in the garden. I also use it for many of my landscape shots since it's with me and available when I'm working outside. The few times I've taken the Nikon out while I work in the garden, I've either lost track of where I've set it down, or found it in the way, so I usually just stuff the phone in my pocket when I am doing more than wandering around taking photos. In the birds and mobile features #12 thread, I've posted photos taken with both cameras: Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 9:05 - iPhone Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 9:19 - Nikon Dec 3, 14 at 18:04 - Nikon Thu, Dec 4, 14 at 7:59 - Nikon In the summer, more of the photos were phone photos since I was more likely to be out working during warm weather. Here is a link that might be useful: the second camera question thread

Thanks for answering. :) I'm already using the plastic bucket baffle to prevent predators and the next-door neighbor has been kind enough to let me mount the conduit pole on one of the eight foot high 4x4 posts in her privacy fence. This makes the house a total of 17 feet high, and I can lower the house to 10 feet for cleaning by loosening the screws on one side of the pipe strap a bit, although I think nest monitoring this way might impractical. Aas for whether Flycatchers can enter a Martin style SRE, I think I've found my answer. http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bird/msg061803451680.html I'm still not sure about whether 50 feet is far enough from the house though. :/ I guess I'll just try it and see.

I took mind down after first use, I had it set up with the cord hanging across the yard like a clothes line, it was a safety hazard, hope to eventually get it set up in another box or area for security monitoring or to have it where I can switch it back and forth between boxes. Having the 100ft cord attached permanently to camera is annulling though, Not practically to have 50ft or more extra cord left over. Anyway that's life. If I understand what your trying to say, would it be ok to leave it up during the winter, I think it would be ok, I don't think the winter will break it or hurt it in any way, the only thing the winters might do to it is frost over the lens, but it might generate just a tiny bit of heat to keep that from happening. Don't really know. If the cord is not in the way and you don't plan on moving it from box to box, I would just leave it where it is. And I give this advice for another reason and that is for the screws. The screws for those things are really small, To be taking them out and putting them back in will more liking just make bigger holes for the screw holes, and eventually you'll need to make new screw holes, which is no real big deal but something to think about. Another thing in consideration is the chance of loosing the screws taking them on and off. Replacing the screws is no big deal, its just a hassle to find screws that small, at least with the one I got, I actually drilled the holes on the camera mount bigger. Another thing a screw driver with a magnetic tip helps. And keep the screws in a baggy or something with the camera. Keith