Logline: LIVE bird cams and the people who love them

Coming fall 2026. Co-directed with Flonia Telefrafi.

A feature documentary on live bird cameras and the people obsessed with them. The cameras, also known as nest cams, provide 24/7 footage, close up, to tens of millions of devoted viewers worldwide.

The film addresses our evolving relationship with nature by examining the effect the cams have on our understanding and appreciation of wild birds, be it the red-tailed hawks on Cornell’s campus, the Royal Albatross chick in New Zealand, or Sunny and Gizmo, two viral bald eagle chicks in Big Bear Valley, CA. The cams provide uninterrupted access to birds’ full life cycle: the joys of seeing chicks hatch and grow into healthy fledgelings, the anxiety-inducing “fludge” (poorly executed first flights out of the nest), and the heartbreak of witnessing deaths or when a beloved bird doesn’t return. All of this is a new form of entertainment for the Internet era. This must-see, slow TV of sorts has been around since the early 1990s. Aided by newer, high definition surveillance cameras and the Covid-19 pandemic, live cams all over the world have experienced a boom in viewership. 

The film highlights the history of the “genre”, key live cams, how fans connect with cams and each other, the role of cam operators, and people’s desire to deepen their connection with nature. Featuring scientists, camera operators, and content moderators from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, UMass Amherst, MassWildlife, Syracuse University, and others.