Watch a bald eagle feed its chicks in Florida. See owlets flex their wings in Israel or storks raise their young in Germany. Zebras and elephants in South Africa, raccoons in Ohio, a falcon in Australia and ospreys in Wales. These are all things which can be done while sitting in the comfort in your own home thanks to Skyline Webcams!

We have also watched ice skaters and Christmas markets in Germany and Easter processions in Spain. There are dozens of cameras in a huge variety of locations. Plenty are less exciting views, of a beach in Florida for example but even some of these were worth a look when they were being pummelled by a violent storm a few months back. Even watching the redevelopment of Puerta del Sol in central Madrid is curiously compelling!

If, like me, you don’t get out and about that much or go on exotic holidays but love watching wildlife in its natural habitat, these Webcams are hugely entertaining. I would say the best ones are in the United States and South Africa but as mentioned above, there are gems to be found in all sorts of places.

They are not all online all the time. In fact, one of our favourites, the Deer Pantry in Maine is about to go off-line until next winter so catch it soon to see beautiful white-tailed deer!

Once chicks have fledged and the adults have gone away, the cameras tend to be turned off but that means it’s great fun when they reappear and you see that the adult birds are rebuilding their nest for another brood.

If you go to the website and hover over Live Cams you get a menu of all the different countries where there are WebCams then you can explore and find your own favourites. Many of the cameras can be rewound so you can catch what went on earlier in the day or overnight such as visits from lions at ol Donyo in Kenya where the camera is placed very near to the waterhole so you get great close-ups. Most have sound which you usually have to unmute. Beware putting the sound up too high if watching the ospreys in Florida, they are loud!

New cameras appear all the time so there is always something fun to watch and of course, because they are in different parts of the world with different time zones and seasons you will find different creatures raising young at different times.

News and current affairs can be rather depressing and frustrating at times. Watching wildlife in South Africa, Spain or wherever is a great antidote!