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Bird Cam vs. Super Bowl?
In another hour or so, the biggest football event of the year commences… but some of us really couldn’t give a hoot! Even though our home team actually made it to the Super Bowl this year, there’s oodles of other things we’d rather do than watch.
Now, watching one of the many bird cams on Explore.org is mesmerizing! From hummingbirds to owls and bald eagles (go eagles), you can catch live Africa, oceans, bears, bison and northern lights… and so much more! It’s a virtual nature channel in real time. Some of the subjects have names, and their lives are followed over time.
Most recently, folks were devastated when Bella Hummingbird lost her eggs to a stellar’s Jay. A force to be reckoned with, Mother Nature is stunning, shocking, glorious and so terribly sad at times… but she remains faithfully resilient. Bella will begin the life cycle again, but for now, enter Luna Hummingbird! Explore.org will even email a daily “Dose of Love” should you choose to subscribe.The site is absolutely free to watch anytime- and any subject of choice. These Nature Cams offer the most amazing glimpses into an unknown world, sans disruption or intrusion. Simply put, Bird Cams create a wonderland and the best part… you don’t even need your own!
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Happy Mother’s Day to all….. viewing some great moms in hosted bird cams!
Happy Mother’s Day… to all the great Moms out there!
From the winged to the walking and everything in between, bird cams capture the miracle of life, and the harshness of Mother Nature as well. Two interesting live streams of hosted Bird Cams from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and New York Sate Bluebird Society are listed below.From The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Live Red-tailed Hawk Nest. There’s also a cam for a Great Blue Heron Nest on their website.
Watch live streaming video from cornellhawks at livestream.comAlso from a bird cam: “New high-speed videos of hummingbirds overturn nearly two centuries of conventional wisdom on how they drink. Researchers previously thought tube-like channels in their tongues sucked up fluid by capillary action, but the new analysis shows that their tongues actually trap nectar by curling around it.”And From the New York State Bluebird Society, birds cams have been in place since 2002,
Recently a post on a Bluebird List-Serve mentioned an attack by Tree Swallows which was captured on the cam… I don’t have the heart to watch though. The actual date of attack is May 5, 2012. Here’s a link for the brave of heart.
http://www.nysbs.org/nestcam.htmBecause of recent pricing decreases (amazing huh?) bird cams are available to the masses at very reasonable prices. The newest one is a Time-Lapse Cam from Wingscapes which sells for around $100 to $110. A one-time investment for the camera will bring hours, days, weeks, months and even years of glimpses into some of nature’s tiniest miracles. A fantastic educational tool for young and old alike, Bird Cams promise to bring joy and a touch of wonder to the viewer!
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a great explanation on bird cams and expanding viewing capabilities
In the “Bluebird Monitor’s Forum, there recently appeared an interesting post about bird cam installation and viewing capabilities/preferences. The “away-signature” cracked me up.. because I can so relate, and likely many other folks out there in cyber-world. It said “Using yesterday’s software to create tomorrow’s problems today!” Hah… isn’t it the truth with the ever-changing technology?Instead of interpreting, and providing a narrative, for optimum clarity I’ll just re-post what this person’s experience and solution was:
“I acted upon the recommendation of the Hawk Eye Night Owl Bird Cam and installed one in a new and taller chickadee box which hangs in our front yard. A Black Capped Chickadee scolds me every time I get near the box.
The bird cams 100′ long cable was then strung into the garage, where I asked myself what next? The camera’s composite video could be plugged directly into a number different devices permitting viewing/recording, but this is the age of the internet–I wanted to view/record the video from my computer.
Since I already had a Ethernet hub in my garage which is connected to my LAN, I wanted a use an affordable video server plugged into this hub. The answer was solved by purchasing an IP Video 9100A Plus Network Video Server.
http://www.amazon.com/IP-Video-9100A-Network-Server/dp/B000HBVTCA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327004024&sr=8-1
Basically the camera’s video and sound plug into the 9100A, and it plugs into the Ethernet hub. Once all is connected and setup, the camera’s video can be viewed/recorded from your web browser (preferably Internet Explorer). The sever can be setup to detect motion, and when motion is detected, send an e-mail, and/or FTP images to a server. The server could actually be set up to permit viewing anywhere in the world. The 9100A actually has 4 video inputs, but only 1 sound input (hmmmm?).
I’ll not go into further detail unless asked, but I would advise anyone purchasing the device to be skeptical of the quick setup instructions that come with the device. The installation manual was not written/edited by someone whose primary language is English. Knowledge of IP devices helps.
But it does work!”
Birding Tips, Information & News
Now, watching one of the many 
