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You can’t just drop in on all the wild animals you’d like to see. Some animals are secretive or unfriendly or live in remote, inhospitable areas. For some species, ill-timed human visits can disrupt feeding, breeding or nesting. But webcams help bridge that distance. Animals trigger candid snaps and videos when they approach remote-action trail cameras. The resulting images don’t just entertain; they also inform science and management actions at national wildlife refuges.
Trail cameras offer another advantage: They often let you see animals at closer range than would otherwise be possible. You can even attend a virtual bird festival (see below).
See candid snaps that animals trigger when they approach remote-action cameras.
Bird Cams
See live video of birds nesting and tending chicks at national wildlife refuges. See list below.
Virtual Bird Fest
See birds that migrate each year to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Look for more details below.
A wild turkey is photographed by a motion-activated trailcam at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.
Refuge Bird Cams
Most web cameras operate only seasonally and weather-permitting.
Eagle cam, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD
Osprey cam, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD
Puffin cam at Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, ME
Condor cam, Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Seabirds, Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Osprey cam, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, NJ
Eagle cam, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, OK
Eagle cam, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge, IL
Osprey cam, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, NY
Eagle cam, National Conservation Training Center, WV
Refuge Seal Cam
The gray seal cam at Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, part of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, offers views year-round. Look for puffins in summer and gray seals in winter. The refuge is the second largest gray seal pupping area on the East Coast. .
Attend a Virtual Bird Fest
The Arctic may be about as remote a place as you can get. But the cold and barren region is an important nursery for many bird species. To help bridge the miles and show people some of the birds that depend on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and why, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched the annual Arctic Refuge Virtual Bird Fest in 2018.
The event is a social media-based festival that connects Americans with the refuge through its charismatic ambassadors – the birds that migrate there each summer from backyards all over the world. #arcticbirdfest How the Virtual Fest Was Hatched
2019 festival video
