A Raspberry Pi Is a Great Platform for Building an Inexpensive, Yet High-Quality, Wildlife Camera

Wildlife photography is a tricky field, as it requires both finding animals and not scaring them away. When filming a documentary like Planet Earth, photographers and videographers don’t just walk into the field a snap a picture; they spend days, or even weeks, sitting as still as possible to get that perfect shot. Luckily, there is another choice: the wildlife camera.

Wildlife cameras are designed to be placed inconspicuously, and to wait patiently until movement is detected, at which time they snap a photo or record a video. While prices for commercial wildlife cameras have certainly dropped, they can still be pricey. So, if you want to get some great wildlife snaps, you might want to follow PiBat’s lead and build one yourself.

This project is something you can build quickly, without spending too much money. All you’ll need is a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a Raspberry Pi Camera Module, a telephoto lens, a battery pack, and an enclosure. Just set up the Raspberry Pi as usual, and then install PiKrellCam to automatically trigger the camera when motion is detected. As you can see, PiBat was able to get some pretty nice captures, and you can too if you place your homemade wildlife camera in a good location.