You’ll definitely want to keep in mind the nesting seasons for your geographic region, as this is not a device for year-round use. The camera needs to be kept above 32 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal operation, and birds’ nesting instinct is activated within a fairly rigid window of time. If you’re in the US, the US Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency has a handy chart of date ranges by state during which you’ll want to keep nesting boxes up.
Maybe Maybe Maybe
Aside from the questionable nesting hole size advice, a couple of other Polygon features gave me pause. There’s no roof overhang to keep rain from blowing into the hole; this was confirmed by the fact that I saw water droplets inside the nest every time it rained. The inside is also varnished, something experts explicitly advise against, though there is no discernible odor.
After five weeks of the birdhouse being up in my Pacific Northwest backyard within the nesting season window and not having so much as one curious visitor (at least, not one captured on camera), I reached out to Robyn Bailey, project director of NestWatch at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with photos of my Polygon setup to see if something about it might be scaring the birds away.
“If you live somewhere that is warm, then I would have expected something to at least have gone inside it to look by now,” she said. She did point out that she has a similar nest box from another brand and noticed that the inside is quite cavernous compared to what birds typically prefer in the wild.
“I think most birds shy away from boxes that are much bigger than their needs, preferring to nest in a box that is just the right size,” she said. “I don’t know exactly why … maybe it saves them the energy of having to make a much bigger nest to fill the bottom, or maybe it has something to do with temperature regulation. That said, if there is a shortage of good nesting sites, I would expect something to use the box.”
Something else I couldn’t help but note: The camera makes an audible click when triggered either by movement or by opening the live view in the app. The sound is unfortunately further amplified by the roomy size and smooth varnish of the box. Given that birds are scared off my feeders when a door opens 30 feet away, I can see how sudden noises from inside their actual nest might be a deal-breaker.
Photograph: Kat Merck
Bailey pointed out, however, that because birds are most active during the day, there’s enough ambient noise around that a camera click may not register, though this could vary widely from species to species. Despite the camera having quite decent infrared night vision, I will likely refrain from checking on any nesting birds at night, since they will be more likely to become startled by the noise.
So, in the meantime, I wait. At least I can say that the Polygon’s Wi-Fi connection has never faltered despite the box being about 20 feet away from the house, and the 3-watt solar panel has kept the camera’s 5,200-mAh battery well-charged. If and when birds do decide to pay a visit, I’m confident the Polygon will be ready.