I suspect that you’ll need more than 4 spikes to deter any determined bird.
I recently increased the number of spikes around my sky unit to 14 but still have a male blackbird that somehow manages to get into the centre where he proudly sings every morning grrrr.
4 Likes
what camera do you use for taking these pictures?
Are you talking about the frame grads from my weather cam?
It’s an off brand so I’d have to go look it up, but it’s the IP camera I could find with a starlight sensor and 180 deg FOV (fisheye lens) that wasn’t insanely expensive.
BTW, I put some bird spikes on mine and that took care of the bird landings but now I get false rain from wind.
1 Like
I just want to buy myself an affordable ip camere with 180 lens, so yes, if you could tell me the brand that would be great (or where to buy it, which would be even better)
The one I got was sold under the name of Boavision and the model number is IPCX-PC28011080S-P.
I ordered mine thru DHgate but it looks they’re sold out.
If you pick one up make sure you mount it with the dome facing horizontally or do something to make the seal better on the dome as it will leak if you mount it facing up.
found that one on aliexpress and ordered it. It seems that it is also suitable for watching bright stars at night. Great. Will take 60 days to arrive.
1 Like
Wow 60 days, to bad they don’t have them right now on DHgate as mine only took a few weeks.
I have several dahua starlights but put them into IR mode when dark as they work way better than when in color and a little better than non-starlights. I keep the the weather camera in color all the time though and yes you can actually see some of the stars even at the angle I have mine set at where it picks up lights from the neighborhood.
It’s definitely not in the same league as even the big name Chinese cameras but it’s good for the use I got mine for and it’s price is on par for what it can do.
usually stuff arrives between 2 and 6 weeks. perhaps the seller wants to be on the safe side. (I will be on holiday in the usa when it arrives)
iPhone 7. I have almost retired my DSLR camera except when I need special lenses.
Originally, I mounted my Sky on a fence next to a set of manual rain gauges. It was there for about a year and never had a bird problem. I recently moved it on top of my house for better wind. It’s become a magnet for birds. It’s the tallest object around for 50m making it very attractive perch.
I set it up just before travelling overseas, I soon started getting false rain but there was nothing I could do until my return. This was the results about a month of perching )-:
The Sky cleaned up reasonably well and I’ve placed wires around the edge. Maybe too many?
What’s the weather flow position in regards to birds? How did the reflective tape/spots work out?
I guess the concept of splitting the rain and wind two devices, would allow a resign to include a bird deterrent.
1 Like
A ring of prismatic tape around the top lip of my Sky did not deter a bird from landing on it, but I guess it could possibly make poop cleanup easier… 
Birds can definitely create false rain, but this can usually be mitigated by either creating a perch slightly higher than the SKY, or by creating a “crown of spikes” deterrent as you’ve done.
1 Like
Are these toothpicks?
Hello,
I tried toothpicks the first go round, but they didn’t last so well. What you see there are plastic knitting needles from JoAnnes craft store.
Erik Andersen
erik_email@me.com
1 Like
First false rain report from a robin perching on my Tempest. It rained this AM and my reflective bird tape was stuck to my mounting pole. When that tape flutters, no birds approach. Would still love a crown of spikes which wouldn’t affect rain measurements. WeatherFlow…?
1 Like
It is coming. Don’t have a date yet, however.
5 Likes
Had problems last year with my Sky and Tempest FT, so I put up a PVC perch that was quite a bit taller and the horizontal piece was pointing well away from the Sky & Tempest, worked quite well. This year they didn’t seem to have much of an interest. But the “Perch” is on standby in the basement just in case…
Probably a pic of that config in the threads somewhere…
Well, less than 12 hours after install, I received my first bird induced rain event. Actually watched him land on the Tempest, look around for a few minutes, then fly off. Have an idea for a spike that won’t interfere with wind or rain measurements. Will see if I can put together a prototype.
My Tempest is mounted to the top of a 4x4 post. I was thinking about screwing a stiff wire to the post, bringing it up along side the Tempest and then bending it in so the point was more or less above the center of the dome. Kind of half a lamp harp. Figured that would minimally interfere with wind measurements. As much as I like the crowns, I’m thinking it will only take a single point to keep birds from roosting.
That said, is the dome portion of the Tempest fixed? If so, one or two bare 12ga wires taped to the outside of the dome might have the same effect.
If you are going to bend wire like a lamp harp, I would use clothes hanger wire and attach it with a clamp to the mast (or wooden post) just below the Tempest. I would also come up the north side, so that the wire does not shade the solar sensor or any of the panels…
1 Like