Inspired by an article in TechStage This year I decided to build a birdhouse with a surveillance camera. Since it was installed, it has been monitoring the lives of a pair of tits that have taken over the house.

I decided to build the house myself for two reasons: firstly, prefab houses offer little space for a camera and secondly, we have enough tools lying around in our shed. So I researched on the Internet and found a good collection of simple building instructions at NaBu This costs EUR 1 and is available online immediately. You can find a very similar guide for free at My beautiful garden recall.

I used the instructions for building a tit box (a cavity nesting box) as a basis and transformed it into a classic "old building apartment". These are known to have high ceilings, which can accommodate the camera. So I extended all the side parts by 5cm and the instructions for building a "Big Brother" bird house are ready.

I was able to cut the components out of a pine board measuring 100x30cm (jigsaw) and assemble them in just a few hours. I drilled the hole to a diameter of 3.2cm, which is suitable for great tits, for example.