In southern Arizona, birding could soon become binge watching, after the Arizona Game and Fish Department released a new wildlife webcam.
You can now listen to and watch sandhill cranes, grey birds that can grow up to four feet in height, at their wintering grounds at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, outside of McNeal. Game and Fish spokeswoman Lynda Lambert said everyone should be able to experience Arizona’s wildlife.
"It does a lot for the soul, basically, to have a connection with wildlife," she said. "And so, even if you go down there in December and see the birds, to be able to follow them, and you know, tune in every day and kind of check, it’s a neat experience for people that does a lot for them."
Lambert knows that first-hand. She said she once got hooked on wildnersness cam for bald eagles. She said this is only the second sandhill crane in the country the department knows about.
"So, this is an opportunity that pretty much anybody can view this, as long as they’ve obviously got an Internet connection," she said. "But if you’re homebound or you can’t drive, you know, all the way to southern Arizona to see these very large, magnificent birds, you can do it from you own home now."
Lambert estimates that tens of thousands of sandhill cranes may sometimes be viewable on the cam. The best time to watch is a half hour before and after sunrise.