When the pandemic lockdown first began (in the US) in the spring of 2020, I found myself turning to nature cams to help provide my nature fix. One of the things I discovered was the sound that made the difference for me.
It probably should have been obvious, but I’ve realized I needed the sounds of those cams as much as—maybe even more than—the sights. As much as I enjoy watching animals, studying their ways, I often leave these cams on for a kind of natural soundtrack to my days. Somehow the sounds from a streaming nature cam work better for me than a white noise machine or a relaxation app.
Like the earlier post, this list owes a tremendous debt to explore.org. Thanks also to people who’ve been leaving recommendations in the comments. I second the Katmai bears and all of the brown bear cams you can access on that page. I’m still on the hunt for a good reptile cam.
Scroll for more nature cams below.
Roseate Spoonbills + Alligators Swamp Cam
They had me at “Swamp Cam.” Confession: The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park is one of our family favorites to visit whenever we’re back home. It’s near where both my husband and I grew up and our extended families still live. This is my “homesick cam” because, well, it’s the sound of home.
It also showcases the spectacular rookery within the park that is a sanctuary for roseate spoonbills, endangered wood storks, cattle egrets and other birds that nest in its trees. Why do birds flock (sorry) here? In a word, alligators. Because of all the gators in the waters below the trees, there is little fear that raccoons, opossums or other tree-climbing Florida predators will run the gauntlet of toothy reptiles to get to the eggs and nestlings.
Decorah Eagles Cam
I could probably fill an entire post with links to eagle cams alone—even the most cursory search for “Eagle Cams” will fill your results with lots of streaming eagle goodness.
I picked the Decorah Eagles to highlight here because of recommendations from readers. For viewers knew to live-streaming nest cams, there’s nothing quite so addicting as tuning in over weeks and months to watch hatchlings become nestlings become fledglings become juveniles.
Because eagle cams are so plentiful, I tend to follow several all year, starting in the south and tracking the North American spring and summer north. The cams of the Bald Eagle Foundation make this especially easy with their cams in Florida, Washington, D.C., and Tennessee. Bonus: one of the Tennessee eagle cams is at Dollywood, bringing two national treasures (Dolly Parton and bald eagles) together in one place, so to speak.
Koala Cam
Like many zoos, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have a collection of web cams to let you have a virtual visit. You can check out the full listing here.
I particularly enjoy the koala cam because (a) koalas, but also (b) there always seem to be local bird fauna making use of the koala enclosure. The mallards of San Diego seem to be particularly fond of the habitat.
Panama Fruit Feeder Cam
This cam is a collaboration between the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Canopy Lodge (and is also another cam indebted to Explore.org). It’s exactly what it sounds like, a fruit feeder set out near an ecolodge in Panama where guests (and virtual guests) can view Prothonotary Warblers, Thick-Billed Euphonias (which sounds like some kind of wind instrument to me), as well as any number of other colorful, interesting species with colorful, interesting names.
And because this cam is associated with Cornell, there is also an excellent informational page featuring video highlights, species information and everything you would expect from Cornell.
In fact, if bird cams are your jam, make sure to check out Cornell’s dedicated Bird cam page. It includes the Canopy Fruit Feeder as well as Bermuda Petrels on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda; Northern Royal Albatross in New Zealand; Red-Tail Hawks in Ithaca, New York; and numerous feeder cams, like this one in Ontario, Canada or this one featuring a hummingbird feeder in West Texas.
If you’re new to birding, I can’t recommend the Cornell Lab’s resources at All About Birds highly enough. My love for their Merlin Bird App is well known and time exploring their web resources and online learning courses is time well spent.
Pipeline Cam
This is one of my Zen cams. The sound of waves breaking at Ehukai Beach on Oahu’s famous North Shore never fails to soothe. This is the home of the Banzai Pipeline — perhaps the most famous surf break in the world. While the biggest waves roll through in the winter (mainly January and February), the cam streams year-round.
There aren’t usually any animals to observe — well, except for the mammals on their beach towels and surfboards, but it’s the sound and the mesmerizing roll of waves against the beach that draws me.
Mixed Species Flying Fox Cam
Okay, bats. This one is kind of therapy for me. (I had a bad bat experience that resulted in some emotional scarring and a series of rabies shots about a decade ago and I’m still not quite over it. It wasn’t the bat’s fault, obviously, but well, phobias aren’t rational. Also obviously.) The bats at the Lubee Bat Conservancy are proving to be quite therapeutic for me since it’s kind of a problem for a science and nature writer to have any kind of full-on, make-you-hyperventilate animal phobia.
Snakes? Insects? Arachnids? Sharks? No problem. Bats? Big problem. But I’m getting better. During the day, you can watch them hanging in their enclosures and the camera provides a nice up close view. Being able to study and learn about them without actually being in the same enclosure — or having them, you know, fly out of a cave above my head — has been helping. I’m working my way up to building a bat house for our backyard, but am not quite there yet.
Bonus Zen Cam: Puppies!
Sometimes I just need to watch puppies play. One caveat: If you have your own pup around, be warned that the sound of puppy play time—all the yips and little barks—may make it hard to work without a furry assistant trying to get a look at your screen. When puppy cam is on, the sounds attract my eight-year-old dog even faster than the sound of me pulling his leash off its peg.
Very cool. I have seen lots of video cams over the years. I would spend more time if I had it. I do like the surfing one and the puppies.
On Facebook I watch Appalachian Bear Rescue. Injured or orphaned cubs are cared for until they can be released back to the wild.
Thanks.
Its too bad those puppies didn’t have anyone to play with. It would have been much for fun to see them enjoying themselves instead of just moping around all the time.
Nothing happened with the Birds or the Bald Eagles the Sea Lion Beach, or the underwater camera, the Ocean was great, I had better things to watch than bats.
You tried,