Prebuilt hide ideas…

[TurtleCat]

I don’t have the tools or expertise to build one on my own so… I’m looking for ideas to for a semi-permanent hide for my yard. It has to be semi-permanent because my HOA will not allow a permanent structure.

It’s something I’d like to leave outside so the birds get used to it being there. I’ve tried popup style but they can’t be left there for too long and the birds seem scared of it or avoid it since it only comes out once in a while.

I’d love it if it could pass as a kid’s play area so it blends in well with the neighborhood.

Anyway, thanks for ideas!

 

[Calson]

I wanted a blind that I could enter from a side door of my house and not be visible to wildlife, mainly birds and coyotes. I bought this and it is roomy and tall enough that I can enter easily and there is space for a tripod and a chair or stool. It is 55x55 x 67 inches tall. At 11 lbs it is easy to move around when set up and when collapsed it can be easily stored.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WESJ930/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

I did not care about the camo pattern as all I needed was to prevent wildlife from seeing a human profile.

 

[DRwyoming]

Anyway, thanks for ideas!

I've had very good luck using extremely simple blinds for backyard birds. You don't need to be completely concealed, you just need to break up the human form. One easy thing I've done is stretched a rope across a couple of supports like trees or even lawn chairs and draped a blanket over the cord. Basically just obscuring me from the chest downward and leaving my head, camera and arms exposed. It's surprising how something as simple as that can work.

A slightly more complex approach is taller supports and a piece of material draped with a cutout for the camera lens. I use the die cut, leafy style camo cloth which again doesn't completely conceal me but breaks up my form and just the camera and lens sticks out towards perches set near feeders. I like the camo cloth mostly because with all the fluttering cut outs it's easy to see birds as they fly in and hop towards some of the better placed perches as opposed to solid cloth with a lens window where I can only see a small area through the hole.

If your feeders are near the house an open window or open door, perhaps with similar cloth hanging to break up your form works really well. In cold winter weather and open window can be problematic in terms of warm air rushing out of the house creating local heat turbulence but in warmer weather this is my go-to for feeding stations near the house.

Sometimes I just sit quietly with my camera gear ready near an outdoor fountain or feeder and usually birds will come in close if I don't move abruptly. IOW, sometimes no blind is necessary at all but the odds are better if I do something to break up my form a bit.

 

[TurtleCat]

That one looks nice but would it hold up to 24/7/365? Although I suppose if it lasted one year it could be a good idea.

 

[TurtleCat]

I've had very good luck using extremely simple blinds for backyard birds. You don't need to be completely concealed, you just need to break up the human form. One easy thing I've done is stretched a rope across a couple of supports like trees or even lawn chairs and draped a blanket over the cord. Basically just obscuring me from the chest downward and leaving my head, camera and arms exposed. It's surprising how something as simple as that can work.

A slightly more complex approach is taller supports and a piece of material draped with a cutout for the camera lens. I use the die cut, leafy style camo cloth which again doesn't completely conceal me but breaks up my form and just the camera and lens sticks out towards perches set near feeders. I like the camo cloth mostly because with all the fluttering cut outs it's easy to see birds as they fly in and hop towards some of the better placed perches as opposed to solid cloth with a lens window where I can only see a small area through the hole.

If your feeders are near the house an open window or open door, perhaps with similar cloth hanging to break up your form works really well. In cold winter weather and open window can be problematic in terms of warm air rushing out of the house creating local heat turbulence but in warmer weather this is my go-to for feeding stations near the house.

Sometimes I just sit quietly with my camera gear ready near an outdoor fountain or feeder and usually birds will come in close if I don't move abruptly. IOW, sometimes no blind is necessary at all but the odds are better if I do something to break up my form a bit.

Thanks for the idea! I have a sometimes-flowing creek in the back yard some distance from the house and that’s there the feeders are. I’ve got a nice chair and a LensHide right now. But they can’t stay out there all day and night. When I put them out there the birds scare off and seem to be scared of it when they do come back. Maybe my local birds are too skittish for simpler setups. So that’s why I’m thinking of something more substantial that can be left outside where they won’t get freaked out by it.

 

[Calson]

Hunters will often leave their blinds out in the field for a week or more to habituate the wildlife to seeing it. I have one that I have had on the deck of my house for the past 3 years and it is still in good shape. It is located on the northeast corner and so get far less exposure than if it was on the south side of the house.

With a free standing blind it can be setup in minutes and taken down quickly when the weather turns and it can be used at other locations. The more time it takes to set up a blind the less likely I will be to actually use it. At a cost of only $140 the blind was a no-brainer decision for me.

 

[TurtleCat]

Hunters will often leave their blinds out in the field for a week or more to habituate the wildlife to seeing it. I have one that I have had on the deck of my house for the past 3 years and it is still in good shape. It is located on the northeast corner and so get far less exposure than if it was on the south side of the house.

With a free standing blind it can be setup in minutes and taken down quickly when the weather turns and it can be used at other locations. The more time it takes to set up a blind the less likely I will be to actually use it. At a cost of only $140 the blind was a no-brainer decision for me.

Hmm, you may be turning me on the idea. Especially if yours has been outside in the elements for three years.