Makes videos of where they fly and automatically drops off when they return to your feeder again.

Then you download and watch the video.

If the bird didn't return after a day or two, the camera would just drop off anyway, but birds are pretty loyal about visiting well maintained bird feeders, do they'd most likely come back.
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 13 2024

Can you build it into one of these? https://www.google.com/search?q=bird+band
[a1, Feb 13 2024]

What you'd get https://www.npr.org...u-get-soaring-video
WARNING! TURN THE VOLUME DOWN!!!! For some reason they have the screaming wind turned up to 11. [doctorremulac3, Feb 13 2024]

Only vaguely related idea ... Kestrel_20Snax
[normzone, Feb 17 2024]

I can see the appeal of this. But I think it would be hard to make a camera small enough (like a bird band?) and devise a mechanism to automatically attach and detach it.
-- a1, Feb 13 2024


I have seen video footage from a tiny cam strapped to the back of a tame bird of prey.
-- pocmloc, Feb 13 2024


Me too, that's what inspired this.

This would be attached by a very soft, very safe bear trap looking device, obviously well padded to not hurt the bird. It would snap shut around the upper ankle and form a band like a1's link.

Have to be pretty light though, but cameras are getting very small these days.
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 13 2024


I believe birds would be able to confuse the hell outta you when they use their AI and end up just making you look like a dummy.
-- blissmiss, Feb 15 2024


They might already be doing that. I'm only assuming the birds at my bird feeder are real.
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 16 2024


I once had a lavish afternoon tea and cakes sitting in a conservatory with copious bird feeders just outside, so we could watch all the birds coming to feed. For a moment I had a panic that it was the other way around, that the birds had organised the tea and cakes to attract Humans to the conservatory for them to watch.
-- pocmloc, Feb 16 2024


Birds aren't real - I just saw a video about that on the internet, so I know it's true.

But before I knew this, I'd already posted the linked idea.

But I like your idea better.
-- normzone, Feb 17 2024


Birds are smarter than we give them credit for. You could train them to carry your tiny camera and bring it back by attaching a tether to it that retracts to the station at longer and longer intervals while a treat pops out at every retraction.
It won't take long before you wouldn't need tethers any more and the birds would take them for longer periods of time learning that they can stash away for later.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 18 2024


Know what? You’re right. Was just watching a video of how smart one particular bird is.

Crows. They’re crazy smart and you could absolutely train them. I think you could then show them the videos they shot. Have a screen at the base where they return the camera where the automatically uploaded video gets played.
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 18 2024


I'd upvote [fries] and [DrR] comments if I could. Thankfully, this is not F-book.
-- normzone, Feb 18 2024



random, halfbakery