There's nothing to beat a fresh, bright morning watching the birds in your back garden feeding, playing and carrying out their mating rituals. Sometimes you'll end up sitting there for hours fascinated by their movements and characters. If you have a garden that attracts a lot of bird and wild life then you might be interested in getting yourself a wildlife camera to ensure you don't miss anything, particularly at night when it's too dark to see what's going on.

A wildlife camera is an essential piece of equipment for bird lovers and wildlife fanatics. There are a vast range of cameras to pick from that can assist you in capturing great wildlife images and catch a glimpse of the animals and insects that parade around your garden during the dark hours.

First you need to set up your garden in order to attract different species of birds and wildlife, and keep them coming back. Birds like trees that offer shade and a place to hang out so plant native trees such as birch and hawthorn, also invest in fruit trees - crabapples and cherries are always a good source of food for attracting various wildlife. In the UK it's quite normal to have foxes, hedgehogs and badgers visiting if you have the right plants and enough shrubbery for them to hide in. A hedgerow around the perimeter of the garden can provide this, as well as giving birds a place to nest.

Encourage insects, as this will attract the birds, by having a mix of native plants - and don't be too fussy over the way your garden looks. Leave parts of the garden wild as it'll provide cover and shade for insects, small animals and feeding birds.

Birds need water so get, or make, a bird bath with rocks inside for them to perch on. Birds like moving water but be careful where you place it as you don't want them to be easy prey for the neighbourhood cats. Providing shelter is also beneficial when trying to attract birds and it'll encourage them to stay and mate, a nest box will suffice and isn't expensive or too difficult to make.

Now your garden is ready to attract nature's creatures you need to place your wildlife camera in hidden locations so you can see exactly what's happening at nighttime. Outdoor wildlife camera kits are quite simple to use, you basically just install it and then watch it on your own TV set from the comfort of your living room. Place the covert camera in a tree or shrubbery with its focus on a particular spot, or inside the bird box itself for a close up of a bird's life. Kits generally come with everything you need, such as cameras, connectors and batteries. If you want to move the camera you detach it and move it to another position, it couldn't be simpler.

You can get colour wireless or wired CCTV cameras with night vision that are water resistant so can be installed outside in all kinds of weather. Built in transmitters generally have a range of around 100m, powerful enough to ensure picture quality remains first-rate through walls, ceilings and floors. As the light diminishes the infrared LEDs activate automatically allowing filming to continue even on the darkest nights. The wireless versions are generally easier to install than the wired versions and the receiver can let you watch up to 4 wireless cameras at one time.

A wildlife camera can make the perfect gift for someone who loves wildlife but finds it difficult getting out and about, fun for everyone whether parents, grandparents or nature loving kids. At affordable prices they are an amazing addition to every household who will be glued to the TV for hours watching live CCTV of robins, blue tits, squirrels, badgers, and other familiar garden creatures as they go about their business nesting, laying eggs and feeding.