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It's Easter -- and Look at All the Eggs!!

© Terrie Murray

It's a great time to be a birder! One of the advantages of the modern Internet is the the availability of nestbox cams: miniature video cameras installed in or above a nest or nestbox so that web-watchers all over the world can watch the progress of nesting birds. Originally developed by wildlife management agencies to monitor the nests of endangered species like peregrine falcons, who often choose to nest in rather inaccessible places like bridge infrastructures and high-rise ledges, nestbox cams are now utilized for many different species. Here are a few of my favorites:

PEREGRINE FALCONS IN NEW YORK: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features...

BALD EAGLES IN MASSACHUSETTS http://www.nu.com/eagles/default.asp

PEREGRINE FALCONS IN VIRGINIA http://www.dom.com/about/environment/fal...

PEREGRINE FALCONS IN OHIO http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/wildlife...

AMERICAN KESTRELS IN ARIZONA http://www.kestrelbox.org/cgi-bin/image....

BARN OWLS IN FLORIDA (and other nestbox cams. This is great site to learn about nestboxes and nesting requirements for birds) http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestb...

And my current top favorite: http://www.quetzalcam.org An amazing glimpse into a Costa Rican rainforest, where you'll find hummingbird.cam, bat.cam, and quetzal.com. AWESOME!!

If you find other nestbox cams, please leave a note in the "discussions" section on the backyard birdwatching almanac so that we can share your find with you. I'd also love to hear about nests in your yard, whether or not they are in nestboxes, and whether or not you have a camera in there to monitor them. So far no one has taken up residence in either of my two nestboxes, but I've seen lots of courtship behavior going on, and lots of nesting material being picked up, so I'm still optimistic. How about you? What's happening in your yard?