The Glaslyn Osprey Project, run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), is home to the only pair of breeding ospreys in Wales.
The Project is part of 'Aren't Welsh Birds Brilliant!', a partnership between RSPB Cymru, Forestry Commission Wales and the Countryside Council for Wales. It was introduced to give individuals the chance to get really close to some of the most exciting birds in Britain.
With a viewing platform open to the public and live images shown in the visitor centre, over 140,000 people have visited the Glaslyn Osprey Project since 2004. Central to the success of the Project is the careful co-management of tourism and the protection of the birds.
The ospreys, who fly in from Africa to raise chicks, have been returning to their Snowdonia nesting site for the past five years. As the birds are the only pair of breeding ospreys in Wales, staff at the RSPB centre feared for their safety and that of their chicks. It was hoped that the use of 24-hour CCTV surveillance would not only prevent any criminal activity but enable specific members of staff to monitor the nest at all times.
Located in a popular tourist area, the Glaslyn Osprey Project also hoped that the cameras would allow visitors to the centre to get up close to the nesting family whilst raising awareness of the dangers
faced to the birds.
The ospreys' nest, approximately 2 metres in diameter, is located at the very top of a 20-metre-high fir tree. The RSPB security caravan, which maintains a 24-hour observation of the nest during the critical egg and young chick stage, is the nearest anyone is allowed to the nest. At over 350 metres away from the nest, across fields, streams and a river, the CCTV equipment used had to be extremely reliable.
Criccieth TV, chosen by the RSPB to install the CCTV system at the Gwynedd site, selected LILIN products for the installation. After extensive research and a thorough understanding of the unique requirements of the project, Dave Hookings from Criccieth TV chose three LILIN cameras and a keyboard to monitor the ospreys.
At the nest site there is a High Speed Dome Camera at nest level about 1m from the edge of the nest. This camera provided spectacular pictures of fish being eaten, eggs hatching and chicks being fed and learning to fly throughout the summer. The Super High Resolution Day/Night Camera with a PTZ Housing was sited on another tree, 25 metres away from the nest tree and at nest height, providing panoramic views of the nest and surrounding countryside. The male bird often feasted on his trout on a nearby tree, which this camera captured superbly. The backup 20m Day/Night IR Camera, which has never had to be used, is on a pole above the nest.
All three camera signals and the upstream telemetry signals were sent 350 metres through a cat5 cable to the RSPB caravan, with the LILIN keyboard and monitoring equipment located at the visitor centre. This was all managed without mains electricity at the caravan, just solar panels, batteries and inverters.
The installation of cameras allows tourists to monitor activities from the visitor centre. With preset positions and full pan, tilt and zoom control of the cameras, RSPB staff can view every possible camera angle from one central position.
Wendy Thompson from the RSPB centre explained, "The camera is in a protective dome to keep it safe from the weather (it can get pretty wild at times here in North Wales) and doesn't move or make a sound as we zoom, so the birds are totally unaware of it. A third camera is on a separate tree around 40 metres away, giving us a wider view of the area. There are now two screens in the visitor centre and we can choose which of the three images to show, depending on what the birds are doing. With a little experimental manoeuvring on our remote control, we managed to spin the nest-cam around 180 degrees and focus in on the female bird as she ate - fantastic!"
Excellent quality and reliability from the cameras has been the success for this application. Dave Hookings, Managing Director of Criccieth TV explained, "The nest site and cabled transmission in which LILIN products were used produced stunning results and never failed once. It has been widely accepted by any visiting professional that this set up is the best in the UK."
LILIN's cameras provide the flexibility and manageability to be used in a number of applications. They are 
currently being considered at a similar RSPB location at South Stack lighthouse, where there are a number of Puffins and Choughs cliff nesting sites.
The staff at the centre has been extremely impressed with the CCTV system and plans to expand it next year. Wendy Thompson said, "The new camera system has given lots of pleasure to many people, providing breathtaking close-up footage of the osprey family. Next year, we hope to have a microphone on the nest, so that we can hear the birds as well as see them."
It is hoped that the use of the cameras will not only increase the popularity of the Ospreys but also raise awareness of their perilous situation as one of the most endangered birds in the world.
