Like watching birds but hate waiting by the window for them to arrive? Put technology to use with the Wingscapes Birdcam, a ruggedized weather-proof photo and video camera with a motion sensor. Lay out some seed, dial in the focal distance on the Birdcam, and walk away. You’ll have pictures of birds—or if you’ve got my luck: squirrels—as soon as they get hungry. Offloading pictures from the Birdcam is as easy as connecting the USB cable or pulling them straight off the SD flash memory card. (Not included, although the Birdcam has a scant 32MB of memory built-in. I’d suggest getting a cheap 4GB SD card.)

The Birdcam isn’t inexpensive at $250. But it’s well built, relatively easy to use (don’t skip the short manual, though), and with a little practice extremely fun for nature lovers who just don’t have time to waste out in nature. (Or people who want to snap photos of animals too shy to come out around humans, like sasquatch.)

Product Page [Wingscapes.com]