Below, a screen shot from the west Texas camera.
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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.
