Watching an Iberian lynx crossing Sierra Morena, following the life of a bird’s nest or gazing for hours at a natural landscape without leaving home. Nature webcams are booming in Spain and are transforming the way thousands of people experience wildlife and protected areas.
The phenomenon is not new, but it has gained visibility with improved technology, high-definition streaming and permanent access via websites, YouTube and social media.
What began as a tool for scientific monitoring and environmental outreach has also become a form of slow-paced digital leisure, somewhere between wildlife watching, environmental education and virtual tourism.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry for Ecological Transition had already highlighted the role of these cameras (source in Spanish) as a way to follow “nature live and in real time without leaving home”.
The Ceneam (National Centre for Environmental Education), part of the National Parks Autonomous Agency, pointed out at the time that all you had to do was connect to cameras installed by conservation organisations, universities, public institutions and research centres to “follow the pulse of nature live” and better understand the challenges faced by wild birds during breeding.
