Here is a list of bird species I saw Saturday afternoon and this morning (Sunday). A wonderful mix. Birds from California, New York state, Ontario, and Texas. All were live on my iPad from birdcams around the country. If I had gotten into this earlier in the day I could have added some South American species. (I have found two active cameras there).
Brandt's Cormorant …. montereybayaquarium.org, Bay cam
Western Gull
Heerman's Gull
Brown Pelican
Great Egret
Marbled Godwit
Black Oystercatcher …. same, aviary cam
Red Phalarope
Killdeer
Hairy Woodpecker …. cams.allaboutbirds.org (scroll around for various cams on this site)
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Ruffed Grouse …. cams.allaboutbirds.org, Ontario camera
Evening Grosbeak … same
Northern New York pond …. cams.allaboutbirds.org
Blue-throatedHummingbird …. cams.allaboutbirds.org
Green Jay …. sabalpalmsanctuary.org
Plain Chacalaca …. Sabal Palm
White-winged Dove …. Sabal Palm
Various hummingbird species in west Texas …. cams.allaboutbirds.org, HD image
Below, a screen shot from the west Texas camera.
Birdcam sites are prolific on the Internet. Some of the cameras are better than others, some of the feeders — which is where all but one of my sites had its cameras — are better than others. But combined they gave me an entertaining afternoon.
I was able to visit two of my favorite birding locations — Monterey Bay (best camera, HD) and west Texas. At Monterey, the camera automatically moves from shore to rocks to open bay. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, sponsor of this cam, also has a live video feed from its inside aviary. That's where I saw the oystercatcher.
The west Texas HD camera is focused tight on a hummingbird feeder. There I saw the Magnificent Hummingbird. In mid-October, that camera recorded first U.S. record of an Amythest-throated Hummingbird. I wonder if anyone saw it in person. And will a video record be sufficient for the Texas and American Birding Association record committees? Has a first-record bird ever before gone unseen by anyone, caught only on camera? Strange.
A cam site in the Rio Grande Valley gave me the Chacalaca and the Green Jay. The jays are worth a look.
It was the feeder in Ontario that produced the Ruffed Grouse, on a platform feeder picking at seeds.
There are many more live video cams out there, dozens maybe. Many operate only during nesting season, though, so are turned off right now. Google will help you find birdcams.
Here are live cams sites I found:
sportsmansparadiseonline.com (Prairie Village, Kansas)
birdcenter.org (Spain)
calacademy.org (Farallon Islands, California)
africam.com (various locations, including elephant watering hole; brief advertising)
audubon.org (lists camera sites, including some of those mentioned above)
mylivestreams.com (various from around the world)
And many sites offer videos of previous activity.