Wildlife cameras have more use than one in the garden. Not only do they use motion detection to capture adorable footage of your backyard visitors you would otherwise miss, they can serve security purposes. If you can't figure out what animal is helping itself to your crops, for example, a wildlife camera can reveal the culprit.

There are so many different types of wildlife cameras, depending on what you want to achieve. Smart bird feeders (for example, like this Walmart smart bird feeder) are integrated into bird feeders, capturing close-up footage of any visitors. You can even get specific smart hummingbird feeders (like this Birdfy one from Amazon) if you often get visits from these charming birds during the hummingbird migration. Or, opt for a smart owl nest box (like this wooden owl house with a camera from Wayfair) to watch these beautiful creatures nest and shelter.

Other wildlife cameras are more general and can be used in multiple ways, often with night vision to capture nocturnal wildlife activity. This includes this Walmart wildlife camera and this Amazon wildlife camera that can be attached to a pole or post. You can use these smaller, more subtle wildlife cameras to monitor specific areas of your yard, such as catching deer, rabbits, rodents, and causing trouble in your planting (you may then want to pick up this Amazon ultrasonic animal repellent to keep them away).

No matter which kind of wildlife you're trying to catch on camera in your yard, there's an option for everyone. The 16 wildlife cameras below won't compromise on your garden's aesthetics or disturb wildlife while recording their activity.

You can use your wildlife camera footage to inform your wildlife garden decisions. Knowing which animals frequent your yard can help you put out the right food, grow native plants for birds, create DIY wildlife shelters, and more.

One easy wildlife shelter you can make for a wide range of birds, mammals, and insects is a brush pile. It's particularly useful to put in place during fall, so wildlife have a shelter to escape the cold before winter settles in.

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