Nature Webcams to Help With Self Isolation

In times of crisis, the natural world is a source of both joy and solace. The natural world produces the comfort that can come from nothing else.

David Attenborough 

As the reality of the COVID-19 lockdown sinks in and we settle down into self-isolation, the importance of the natural world in keeping our spirits up is apparent. One form of exercise a day is currently permitted, which includes walking, and whilst some are lucky enough to live near places where nature can easily be found close to home, others may not have this luxury. Some have taken to finding wildlife in their gardens and birdwatching from their windows, but another way of getting a nature fix in this difficult time is to tune in to the endless array of live webcams online. This post features a selection that I have been enjoying recently and I hope you will too!

At this moment in time we have unparalleled access to the lives of animals around the world from the comfort of our own homes via live webcams. Here are some of my favourites:

Wildlife Kate  

Kate MacRae has been featured on shows like Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Countryfile for her wildlife film work. Her webcams are set up in her garden in Lichfield, and include live feeds of bird feeders, a mammal box, a blue tit nest box, and my favourite at the moment, a blackbird nest.  All of the streams can be found HERE.

A blackbird snoozing on the nest in Kate MacRae's garden.

The Hawk and Owl Trust

If you like owls the Hawk and Owl trust has both a barn owl and a tawny owl webcam live from Somerset. They also have live feeds of two peregrine nests, one from Norwich cathedral and another in Bath.

A pair of barn owls resting in a box on the Somerset Levels.

One tawny owl keeps watch while the other settles down in a box at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve.

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts have an incredibly diverse collection of webcams available from across the UK. Some highlights include a window into the most inland breeding colony of kittiwakes at Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside, a pair of nesting peregrines at Nottingham Trent University and a pair of ospreys at Cors Dyfi in mid-Wales - which is very close to us! All the links can be found HERE.

A unique insight into a noisy urban kittiwake colony at the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside.

Peregrines nesting at Nottingham Trent University with a handy size chart for scale.

The ospreys have returned to Cors Dyfi in mid-Wales for another year!

Coral City Camera 

Fancy some underwater action? Coral Morphologic has you covered! The Coral City Camera streams from an urban reef in Miami, Florida and is a public art and science project. The feed switches between a few different angles and it is incredibly soothing to watch the fish swimming past in a hurry and the light dance off the sand and corals. The link can be found HERE.

This fish in Miami, Florida had places to be.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Cornell Lab has so many great live feeds which have provided us with a lot of entertainment, including our house cat Smudge! Be instantly transported to a bird feeder at the Canopy Lodge in El Valle de Anton in Panama, with a parade of tropical birds visiting throughout the day to feed on fruit. Or to the Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, New York to see a host of North American birds at the feeders. Take a trip to a windswept Taiaroa Head Nature Reserve in New Zealand, which will give you views of a lonely Northern Royal albatross chick braving the elements and waiting for its parents to return. These are just a few selections, but you can find them all HERE.

A rufous motmot taking centre stage at the Canopy Lodge in Panama. 

A lonely Northern Royal albatross chick at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand.

A squirrel interrupts feeding time at the Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, New York.

Explore.org

Explore.org has a huge selection of live webcams so there is a lot to keep you occupied here. A big part of their mission is to bring people closer to nature, and they certainly succeed on that front. Some of my favourites include a stunning pair of bald eagles in Decorah, Iowa, tiny hummingbirds on a nest in San Clemente, California, a kelp forest off of Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands National Park, California and a watering hole in Madikwe Game Reserve on the border of Botswana and South Africa. All of their live streams can be found HERE.

Bald eagles nesting in Decorah, Iowa.

Hummingbird nest in a rose tree in Orange County, California. 

A majestic scene at the watering hole in Madikwe Game Reserve.

This is just a tiny sample of the live nature webcams that are out there, and just a quick search online will reveal many more. Please feel free to share your own discoveries with us as we would love to hear about them!