Press Releases

Bird's-Eye View

Nest Box Cams Getting Bigger and Better

March 16, 2005

March 2005, Ithaca, NY Although millions of birds everywhere are getting ready to nest and raise their young this spring, most of what they do is hidden from view. With the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Nest Box Cam, viewers around the world can get an up close and personal look at birds as they build a nest, lay and incubate eggs, and raise their young. The cams transmit live views from bird nests over the Internet, receiving as many as 40 million hits from appreciative viewers. This year, the Nest Box Cams are bigger and better, offering more views and new interactive features for cam site visitors.

Why are these cams such a big hit? The Nest Box Cam web site can be enjoyed by all audiences and provides great educational views of bird life. The main attraction in 2004 was watching baby Barn Owls as they hatched, grew up, and learned to fly! The Barn Owls will once again be on camera in 2005, as will several other species from around the country including Osprey, Eastern and Western bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and more. Efforts are underway to put cameras in the nests of an Elf Owl and an American Kestrel. The web site is being improved, with the addition of streaming video from at least one of the nests and a "blog" that users can join to write comments directly to accompany the daily images from each camera. Check out the archives of the "greatest hits" from past seasons at www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestboxcam/index.html.

The cameras are part of The Birdhouse Network, a citizen-science project now entering its ninth year at the Lab. It's a lot more than just watching chicks. Twelve hundred dedicated participants keep track of their nest boxes and collect the data needed to help scientists learn the good, the bad, and the ugly about life as a cavity-nesting bird. This information is vital in conservation efforts and in finding out which factors contribute to a successful nest site. The Birdhouse Network needs more participants, particularly from the western United States and Canada, in order to continue monitoring the nesting success of the more than 40 cavity-nesting species in North America. Everyone is welcome to take part. The registration fee is $15 ($12 for Lab members) and the welcome packet includes a poster, a subscription to the Lab's quarterly newsletter BirdScope, access to the online database where nest observations are stored, and more.

To sign up for The Birdhouse Network or sponsor a Nest Box camera, call the Lab toll-free at (800) 843-2473 (outside the United States, (607) 254-2473) or visit www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse. Spring is coming soon, and so is another action-packed season of bird watching!