I will highly appreciate any recommendations you might have to spot the occasional hedgehog roaming our small garden.
I got as far that people like generic ip PoE cameras such as from reolink and set them up through syncted. I havent gotten to such a complex configuration, but i have a mac mini m1 with docker at home that i can run as a server if needed.
Are wifi cameras a no go? It would save me to drill through walls.
I have eufy battery operated wifi cams because I also didn’t want to run wires. They are okay. Sometimes detect cats and raccoons, but sometimes they don’t. Picture quality is fine. Just don’t expect wired-level quality, detection, accuracy, or features. I have one base unit and several cameras outside. The big plus is setup takes minutes, but you give up on other areas. If you just want to see what’s happening in your backyard they should do the trick for not that much money. And easy set up. 
There’s some controversy about eufy security, and where video is stored or something with Eufy cameras, but for what I use it for I’m not concerned. Plus, everyone is recorded almost everywhere you go by neighbors and kids with phones etc. etc. 
I got this set at Costco.
If you have any other questions about the eufy set up, just let me know.
I’ve used the eufy cams that support HKSV and they have pretty good night vision with motion detection. Currently swapped over to the Nest Outdoor Cam with starling hub and I feel like that would give you a clearer picture.
