Frequently asked Questions

We want you to be happy in your choice of product. So we've attempted to answer the kinds of questions you might ask. If you've read this page and it doesn't answer your questions, the please email us and we'll do our best to answer your query.

Disclaimer: Sorry - but you know what lawyers are like. The information on this page is given in good faith and we have taken reasonable care to make sure that it is accurate, but by accessing this page you accept that you do so entirely at your own risk and that we will not be liable under any circumstances for any loss or damage arising from the use of this information. If you think we have made a mistake, email us and we'll try and correct it..

General questions about our products

What does FSC mean?
Is it true your products are handbuilt?
Why doesn't my product match the photo I saw ?
My box has a crack / split / gap in it
Can I paint or stain my box or table?
Why don't you use metal hole protectors?
Do your boxes meet RSPB guidelines?
Do your boxes have windows?

Questions about cameras and technology

Which type of camera is best?
What are "megapixels"?
How long do the batteries last?
I bought a box and the picture is nothing like as good as the ones on the BBC. Why ?
I've lost my instructions!
I've mislaid the driver disk for my PC
Do you do cameras for Apple Macs?
Do you do motion-triggered cameras?
Do you do time-lapse cameras?
Do you do systems with multiple cameras?

Questions about mounting or using your product

Where should I site my birdbox?
Where should I site my birdtable?
When is the best time to put a birdbox up?
Where should I put my batbox?
Where should I mount my owl box?
Where should I put my hedgehog home?
where should I put my bumblebee box?
Why aren't there bats in my batbox?
Should I leave food on my table?
What kind of food should I put on my birdtable?
My neighbour has a cat? Can I still have a birdbox / batbox / table?
What hole sizes do I need for a particular kind of bird?
Should I feed my hedgehogs milk?

Questions about wildlife law

I've cleaned out my birdbox and there are old eggs inside. Can I keep them?
My nestbox has got starlings in it and I wanted sparrows. Can I chase them out?
My camera is misted up. Can I open the box to clean it?
I've found a baby bird or bat on the ground below my nestbox / batbox. What should I do?
When can I clean my birdbox / batbox / owlbox box out?

What does FSC mean?

"FSC" stands for Forest Stewardship Council. It's an independent international body that certifies wood as being sustinably sourced - in other words, tress are planted to replace any cut down. It's the best way we know of to make sure that the wood we buy doesn't harm the environment. We use only wood that is supplied FSC-certified, and wherever possible we source from the UK to avoid carbon emissions associated with transporting wood around the world.

Is it true your products are handbuilt?

Yes. Our products are all handmande, not mass-produced, so sometimes you will find that we go out of stock at busy times. If this happens please email us and we will try and let you know when new products are becoming available.

Why doesn't my product match the photo I saw?

Because we're constantly trying to improve! The underlying camera technology is always changing, and sometimes we try a different type of wood or a different supplier. If we think the result is better, we'll adopt it. Please note that we make our boxes to be good for wildlife, not pretty for people. We could make them much more attractive (and cheaper!) by using smooth planed wood and paint, but we make them the way the birds like them.

My box has a gap/ split / crack in it

In the wild, birds nest and eat is holes in trees, in bushes, or on the open ground. They don't need or enjoy the kind of sealed, heated home we do. Indeed, chicks can die in nest boxes if they get too hot. Most wild creatures are well adapted to their environment and don't need much help from us. What we do try and concentrate on are features that birds do enjoy - by using roughened, untreated wood we are coming as close as we can to a natural nest. The rough wood helps birds climb in and out, and we use thick wood because it is a natural insulator - it keeps the box cool on hot days and warm on cold ones. For that reason we don't worry about odd gaps, splits, warping and cracking in our products - they may not look nice but they don't bother the birds any, and these are natural defects which come from using real wood. We don't add perches outside because birds don't need them if the wood is roughened, but they can help predators (like Pine Martens and Cuckoos) get inside.

Can I paint or stain my box or table?

Yes. It's your box! We don't paint our boxes for two reasons:

firstly because some paints and stains can be toxic to some forms of wildlife. With our animal homes we prefer not to stain or paint because your never know who is going to move in: nestboxes in particular can sometimes become home to bats and other creatures who can be very sensitive to the organic compounds used in some paints or stains, so we prefer to be safe rather than sorry.
Because we know that if we paint them green, you'll want them in brown to match your fence, and if we paint them brown you'll want them in green to match your shed. It's easier to let you paint them to match the place you are mounting them!

It doesn't really matte whether your stain or paint tables or feeders, although we still tend to leave ours untreated or simply varnished. Where we do use a stain, varnish or a paint we go out of our way to make sure that it has as low a VOC (volatile organic compounds) content as possible and is pet- and child-safe when dry. We dispose of any leftovers in approved council sites. And while we are on the subject, our sawdust (where not used in our own hedgehog homes) goes to local pet owners or is composted, along with any paper or card waste we create. We pack in recyclable cardboard and use old papers for bulk filling in preference to polystrene chips. We believe in watching nature, not damaging it.

Why don't you use metal hole protectors?

Metal hole protectors are recommended by the RSPB. But we disagree. They are recommended only because some creatures - like woodpeckers and squirrels - will chip away at a nest hole, widening it. They can't do that with metal hole protectors. But it is not just woodeckers and squirrels that behave in this way - so do Nuthatches, for example. Here at Garden Safari, we want our boxes to be used, and we would be just as happy to watch a woodpecker raise a brood as a bluetit. So we took the decision to leave them off. You don't find metal protectors on holes in trees, and you won't find them on our boxes, either.

Do your boxes have windows in them?

Yes they do. But we are even choosy about our windows! We make our windows ourselves and we frost the plastic deliberately so that predators aren't attracted by the sioght of chicks inside or the birds inside frightened by sight of predators without. We also make sure that the window opening is no bigger than the smallest exntrance hold for that size of box, so that it doesn't put the bird off nesting. And we mount the windows high up inthe box so that the light diffuses down - avoiding the danger of sunlight shingin directly onto the chicks and overheating them.

Do your products meet RSPB guidelines?

With the above caveat about hole protectors, yes. Our boxes meet or exceed the recommended floor areas and are made from timber at least 15mm thick. They have drain holes in the floor and the entrance holes are the recommended distance above the floor. We've seen a lot of commercially-made boxes sold by supermarket chains and we think they are simply rubbish

Which type of camera is best?

That depends on what you're trying to do, and where you are siting your nest box or table. We've put some general guidelines here, for more information, go to our camera choice page.

Image quality In general, wired cameras give better picture quality than wireless ones. TV cameras give better picture quality than PC (USB) ones, although that is more a side-effect of the way TV works than anything else (TV actually see less dots than PC cameras, but it is designed that way) . Some box manufacturers will go on about CMOS senors versus CCD sensors - the truth is it makes no difference. Both technologies are used in commercial broadcast and digital still cameras.
Wired or wireless? Wired cameras mean holes through walls or some other means of getting the cable to the PC or TV it is being connected to.Obviously that doesn't apply to wireless. Wireless is theoretically prone to interference, although in our experience that's pretty unusual. Wired is useful for boxes being mounted in hard-to-get places: you don't want to be climbing ladders regularly, although you may need to to clean the box out. Wireless is good when there is a long distance between your PC or TV and the nest box, although wireless batteries last a very short time aso you will need to use a cable to connect the camera to nearby mains power using the supplied power adaptor.
PC or TV ? Recording video from a nestbox is easiest using a TV camera and a DVD recorder or VCR - it's just like recording another channel. Editing video, capturing still pictures and of course emailing them anywhere is best done on a PC. TV viewing may mean fighting for the remote control. PC viewing may be more convenient for you if you have a home office or spend more time on the computer than watching TV. PC cameras make exotic tricks like motion-sensing and slow-motion much easier.
IP cameras - we offer a limited range of these, which we normally make to demand. The image quality is about the same as a 480K pixel USB camera, but tehse cameras do have some fantastic features that outweigh the image quality: they are completely remote-controlled. You can pan, tilt and zoom them remotely, using a web browser running on any PC. The camera contains its own web server and runs its own miniature "website", which multiple users can log into and access. This makes these cameras ideal for schools, where multiple pupils can access the camera - potentially even from home. The cameras run off a WIRED ethernet network- but since most wireless ethernet routers offer at least a couple of wired ports, this shouldn't be a problem even if you use wired at home. We can supply the right length of connecting cable on request.
Solar Powered wireless systems - want to mount a box out in the woods? We now offer a range of solar-powered wireless cameras for complete independence. The solar panel comes conencted to a 10 metre canble so you can mount the box in a tree and the panel in the sunshine. The camera

What are "megapixels"?

"Megapixels" applies only to PC (USB) cameras. It's a measure of how many dots the picture you see is made up of, and the bigger the number, the better. However, like most things technical, there is a catch. Most USB cameras have two numbers - the real pixels and the "interpolated" pixels.

Interpolation works like this: I look closely at a small square piece of my picture made up of (say) four adjacent dots in my picture. If all those four dots are green, I could replace them with sixteen dots, and colour them all green. I won't have changed my picture at all, but I will have increased how many dots there are in it - its resolution. Now If I look at my four dots and three are green and one is pink, I can replace them with sixteen dots and make a guess about where the change from pink to green should come. That guesswork is very clever, and takes a look at what is moving in my picture as well - it's the same basic technology that helps to cram a whole movie onto a DVD. So I can increase the number of dots in my picture. This is the interpolated resolution of the camera.

At Garden Safari, we always used to quote actual pixels for our cameras, but we found that we almost alone in doing so. So now we quote interpolated values. If you are not sure, or you want more explanation, please ask us.

How long do the batteries last?

For our standard wireless boxes, the batteries run the infrared lights as well as the camera. These lights come on automatically if the box gets too dark. So, if the battery is left connected overnight, or the box is placed deep inside a hedge, the lights will be running continuously and hte battery will be drained in a matter of hours. This is true of any infrared wireless camera, anywhere. So, we recommend that you run the camera from the supplied mains adaptor - that is what it is there for. Alternatively, you can disconnect the battery when you are not using the camera - we fitted the box with a power supply extender box to prevent the birds being disturbed when you do this.

If runn ing power is a major problem, then there are two options: only connect the battery when you want to view the box (we supply a weatherproof box as standard to make this easier, and we can fit an exterior switch at extra cost on request) or opt for one of our new range of solar-powered boxes. The camera power in these boxes is generated by a solar panel and stored in a battery, so you can mount the box anywhere within the wireless transmission range (up to 100 metres, depending on the terrain)

I bought a box and the picture is nothing like as good as the ones on the BBC. Why ?

Simply because the BBC uses professional broadcast equipment costing tens of thousands of pounds backed up by a whole trailer full of sophisticated electronics and several staff to maintain it all. While we could make such equipment, we founded Garden Safari to make camera boxes accessible to families and schools, so it is not what we are trying to achieve. We think we offer a reasonable product at a reasonable price. Since we started the company the cost of a camera box in the UK has come down from £289 to £79. We like to believe we're largely responsible for that, and we're proud of it.

I've lost my instructions!

No problem. All of our instructions ( and our USB drivers and camera software) can be downloaded from our website customer download page

I've mislaid the driver disk for my PC

No problem. All of our instructions ( and our USB drivers and camera software) can be downloaded from our website customer download page

Do you do cameras for Apple Macs?

Sorry - No. We have found it hard to get a reliable source of cameras with drivers for MACs.

Do you do motion-triggered cameras?

No, although it is something we are looking into. Email us if this is something you are interested in

Do you do time-lapse cameras?

Yes - but indirectly. There is a little software utility in our website customer download page that will take snapshots at regular intervals.

Do you do systems with multiple cameras?

Yes, although we build to order only and they are disproportionately expensive - in other words a two-camera system costs a lot more than twice the price of a one-camera system. While USB systems do allow you to plug more than one camera into your PC (we run four here at the offices) wireless systems would interfere with each other unless they are tuned to different channels. If you want to discuss this in more detail , email us .

Where should I site my birdbox?

That depends to some extent on the species you are trying to attract. For Tits, Sparrows and Starlings, the box should be sited two to four metres (six to twelve feet) up a tree or wall. Because birds don't like a stiflingly hot home or rain blowing into the entrance hole, it is best to place the box somewhere sheltered and slightly shaded - if you don't have a handy tree or bush, then a north or east (ish) facing wall will do. If the only walls you have available face South or West, then try to mount the box in the corner of the eaves.

For Robins and wrens, the box should be sited lower down, around 2 metres (six feet) and well hidden inside vegetation - although you should make sure that the bird can actually fly into the nest!

For all species, take a good look around for predators. Avoid areas too close to cat trails or fence and roof tops that cats can access. Keep an eye out for squirrels (unless you are happy to have your box used as a squirrely dray instead!) and always allow a clear flight path into the box. Remember that many plants leaf up in the Spring, so you may want to prune back any twigs whose leaves will block access to the box when the leaves come out. Like people, birds don't like living next to the all-night restaurant or a motorway, so try to avoid places too near a bird table or feeder, and avoid places on the normal "flight path" into them as well, so that the birds nesting don't get strangers whizzing past their entrance all the time. For the same reason, avoid other nest boxes, unless you are dealing with species like Sparows, who are happier living in groups.

However, always remember that birds nest in cars, in old tyres, and at the exposed tops of windy trees. They are wild creatures, and each one makes their own mind up. It's a good idea to leave your box up for a couple of years, because birds often "check out the neighbourhood" before moving in. If you haven't had any luck after a couple of seasons, try moving the box.

Where should I site my birdtable?

Bird tables are much easier to site, and the main criteria is normally that you can see them! However, you should be wary of putting one up anywhere too near a cat route, and particularly anywhere a cat an jump onto the table. A slightly sheltered spot helps to stop the prevailing wind blowing food off the table or the rain turning it into a soggy mess. If you are hanging your table, then you need to consider that if it falls or is blown down it isn't going to kill someone passing underneath or put a ding in your new car / plate glass window. If hanginmg in a tree, please make sure that the tree limb is strong enough to take the weight of the table and bear in mind that tree limbs do sway. We recommend the use of a safety chain on all hanging bird tables near homes and paths just to make certain that it can't fall off and injure someone.

When is the best time to put a birdbox up?

The breeding season is between February and Auguist, although it varies by species and temperature. Nest boxes can bye put up at any time, but birds tend to be like people and look closely at a new home before moving in, so you are less likely to find them moving in if you put a box up between March and September. In some cases you may find that a box is unused one year but occupied the next. However, you may find what we found - that boxes get used as roosts, particularly on cold winters' nights. Please note that it is an offence to move or disturb any box once birds have moved in and are nesting inside..

Where should I put my batbox?

Bats like it snug and warm.. Site your box in a sheltered but sunny position, out of the prevailing winds and high up on a tree or on a wall - under the eaves of the house is ideal. West or South facing boxes get the benefit of the sun to keep them warm..

Where should I mount my owl box?

That depends on the species. Tawny owl boxes are best placed in trees. Most owl boxes of all kinds are best sited around 2.5 metres (7 feet) off the ground, away from predator access routes and near open countryside, preferably with runs of hedgerows to provide food. Boxes should be sheltered from prevailing winds and not exposed to direct full sun since in some species the chicks can overheat if the boxes get too hot.

Where should I put my hedgehog home?

Hedgehogs like it snug and warm. The biggests risks to a hedgehog are foxes, cats and flooding. Put your box somewhere dry and sheltered - inside a compost heap, under a hedge, or in a sheltered corner of your patio - that is free from flooding and fairly quick-draining. Boxes are more likely to be occupied if they are fairly well concealed, and there is a supply of leaf litter or similar material nearby for the hedgehog to build its nest with. We have been told that shredded newspaper works well but have not tried this ourselves. Avoid obvious cat and fox trails and if possible, face the back of the box away from the prevailing wind and rain - we put ventilation holes in the back and nobody likes a cold draught.

where should I put my bumblebee box?

The box has spacers underneath to keep it off the ground, but even so avoid anywhere that is too damp or has standing water. Apart from that, bees like to follow edges - of walls, of lawns, of hedgerows. Up against the base of a wall or tucked in the base of a hedgerow would do best.

Why aren't there bats in my batbox?

Bats are a little fickle: they are the travellers of the animal world and move in or out as the mood takes them. It's not unusual for Bats to change home as the seasons and even the days change. They may also move around an area - as they deplete the insects in one spot, they move. Bats may even use a roost for just a few nights. There is no way to predict this, but whether they stay for one night or a year, you will be helping to protect some endangered native species.

Should I leave food out on my table until it is eaten?

No. Leave your food out as long as birds are taking it, but not so long that it gets soggy and compacted. Birds don't like rotting food any more than we do. That's why our tables have drain holes to help keep them dry and a special cleaning gap in the border, to make it easier to clean them off.

What kind of food should I put on my birdtable?

That depends slightly on the time of year, and what birds you are trying to attract. Bird seeds of various kinds are available from shops and if you are a gardener you'll be pleased to know that leatherjackets (the grubs of the cranefly or "daddy long legs" often go down well when put out on the table. Stale Bread and cake are old favourites, but be areful not to put too much out, especially when young chicks are fledging - fresher bread swells when wet and we have heard stories of chicks choking after eating too much.

My neighbour has a cat? Can I still have a birdbox / batbox / table?

Yes. Cats are like any other predator - a natural hazard. They do take their toll of birds, especially young ones which have fallen from the nest, and there is little you can do about this except make sure that your nest box or batbox is sited away from regular cat "motorways" and away from places where they can easily climb to access it. Bird tables are much the same - we keep our tables fairly open so that the birds using it can spot trouble before it arrives. Remember - in the wild it would cold weather, starvation, foxes, weasels, martens, stoats, snakes, rats and other predators instead. All we do is put a collar on our predator and call it Tiddles. Bluetits, for example, often have large broods precisely because most of them don't make it to maturity. Any nestbox helps, even if some of the offspring don't survive.

What hole sizes do I need for a particular kind of bird?

These are a rough guide - but bear in mind that birds don't fly around with tape measures and who moves in will ultimately depend on who likes the box. Birds are as individual as people.Our boxes have a 32mm and a 25mm hole as standard. Our new range also has a 100mm open front for Robins.

25mm for Bluetit, Marsh Tit and Coal Tit
28mm for Tree Sparrow and Great Tit
32mm for House Sparrow and Nuthatch
45mm for Starling
Open fronted for Robin, Wren, Song Thrush and Wagtails

Should I feed my hedgehogs milk?

Contrary to popular opinion, No. Cow's milk is actually very bad for hedgehogs.So is bread, and cat or dog food which contains jelly or gravy. Your best bet is dry cat biscuits or whiskas supermeat, sultanas or pieces of fruit, cooked chicken, or raw lamb or beef mince. Do not "feed" your hedgehog dead slugs or snails, because these may have been poisoned by slug pellets, which can harm hedgehogs just as much as the slugs they are aimed at.

If you see a sick or injured hedgehog, don't pick it up: phone the RSPCA. The best care most hedgehogs need is just to be left alone.

've cleaned out my birdbox and there are old eggs inside. Can I keep them?

No. It's actually an offense to keep any old bird's eggs you may find in your nest box - even if they are clearly never going to hatch, even if they are just broken discarded part shells. This may seem harsh, but it is the only way that illegal egg-collecting can be stopped. If picking old eggs out of nests were legal, then anybody could use that as an excuse for collecting viable eggs from active nests and it would be almost impossible for the poice to prove otherwise. Many museums have licensed collections of eggs that you can look at - and of course, you can see the eggs and the chicks through your nest box camera all the time. Old eggs should be discarded - if you have a compost heap, they can be added to that. You may not legally sell them, either. Please note that it is also an offence to take eggs from any box between August and January. For some species, it is even an offence to disturb the birds while they are on the nest!

My nestbox has got starlings in it and I wanted sparrows. Can I chase them out?

NO! It is an offence under the wildlife and countryside Act to disturb any nesting bird (one reason why cameras are so useful). If you get starlings and you wanted sparrows, you will just have to wait until they have finished nesting, between August and January. For some species (e.g Barn Owls) it is also an offence to disturb the birds.

My camera is misted up. Can I open the box to clean it?

Only if the box is unused, or the birds have finished nesting and left the box - between August and January. Misted cameras will normally clear naturally when the sunlight hits the box. Running the infrared lights will help to warm the camera and clear the misting.

I've found a baby bird or bat on the ground below my nestbox / batbox. What should I do?

LEAVE IT WELL ALONE. Most baby birds have parents nearby, and will be fine if given peace and quiet. If you stay in the area the parrents may abandon the chick, in which case its chances are much, much worse. Even if your cat is prowling the area, you are usually better off leaving things alone. With bats, the position is even stronger: it is an offence to handle any bat unless you are licenced to do so. Remember, many bats are endangered species. If you see one that yopu think has fallen from your box, phone the RSPCA.

How and when can I clean my birdbox / batbox / owlbox out?

The law is very strict on interfering with nest boxes and bat boxes. If there are birds or bats inside, you cannot disturb them. The best time to clean a nestbox is between September and early January.Take out and discard any old eggs and nesting material. Don't use disinfectants or pesticides - a dose of boiling water is all you need. Don't add your own bedding - most modern synthtic materials can be hamrful to birds.

Most bat species are endangered, and all are protected by law.You may not disturb an active bat roost in any way. We suggest you leave your batbox alone until there has been no activity in or near it for several weeks - bearing in kind that bat colonies often "wander around" an area, moving from roost to roost as they clean out the local insect population, so they may well come back. You can then clean the waste out of the box and again, use a bit of boiling water to disinfect it - do not use checmicals or pesticides of any kind. Our bat boxes are especially designed to allow the cameras to be removed easily before cleaning.