Candid Cameras
The race is on for the debut of the latest Internet stars in the Chesapeake Conservancy’s lineup. The urgency? Getting the cameras in place before the stars arrive.
The intended reality stars are great blue herons nesting in a rookery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“We must move fast, as the heron customarily return to their nests in the next two weeks,” says Jody Couser, director of communications. “We have to mount the camera quickly so as not to disrupt the rookery.”
So great is the rush that the Annapolis-based organization is seeking crowdfunding.
The Chesapeake Conservancy did not plan to launch a third webcam, so funds are not in this year’s budget. Then the property owner invited the Conservancy to set up its third live-streaming webcam at the rookery where, for the last 10 springs, about a dozen great blue herons have nested in a small loblolly pine grove. Once the large blue eggs hatch, the population grows to roughly 50 herons.
Webcams help the Conservancy connect people to the Chesapeake and the species that call it home.
“We get to see straight into their nests. We can share the wonder of these majestic birds live on your screen 24 hours a day,” Couser says
Infrared camera technology enables viewing even after dark.
Intimacy breeds stewardship.
“We know that once you care deeply about the Bay and you have access to the Bay, you will help take care of it,” Couser says.
The two active web cameras feature an osprey duo and a pair of peregrine falcons. Boh and Barb, the falcons, nest outside the 33rd floor of the Transamerica Building in Baltimore. The osprey, Audrey and Tom, should return to their seasonal nest near Kent Island around St. Patrick’s Day.
“These cameras are wildly popular,” Couser says. “We get more than one million views each year for each webcam.”
Those viewers come from all over the world and more than 100 countries.
The Conservancy has secured a donation from a tree service based in Rehobeth, Del., to mount the cam in the 80-foot-tall pine. Discounted equipment and installation come from Skyline Technology Solutions, Inc., the company that helped launch the other webcams.
At press time, $4,000 had been raised toward the $10,000 goal.
Donate at www.gofundme.com/6cru5qxg.