Africam is – as the name implies – a camera in Africa. Back in 1998, an idea was formed to put a camera up at a waterhole in Africa so we could watch the animals come for a drink.
I was addicted to watching these camera back then although at the time, it was a still camera that captured a new image every 30 seconds.
Unfortunately, the cost of providing this free service was too much and after a few years, Africam disappeared from the internet. The cameras have now been reserected and are even better than before.
Although there are other cameras, the one I have become re-addicted to is situated at Nkorha Lodge and it is a video camera (with sound) that is showing us everything 24 hours a day.
The new camera has wonderful zoom and pan capabilities and now we can also see birds, plants, insects and small reptiles. Lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, hyenas, elephants, hippos & rhinos are also irregular visitors to this waterhole along with the daily (if we are lucky) impalas, wildebeasts, zebras & giraffes.
Because this is a bird site, I will of course concentrate on the birds, expecially the ones commonly kept as pet birds or similar to birds commonly kept as pets. Many of the birds are heard, but seldom seen, and you will learn to listen for the bird calls to know who is near.
A couple of regular visitors to the waterhole are a pair of Egyptian Geese, that have been named Egyp and Tian by the members of the Watering Hole forum.
Pied Crows, Glossy Starlings and Cape Turtle Doves often show up at the waterhole for a visit.
I was surprised one day to see a parrot along the side of the waterhole. It was a Brown Headed Parrot and it was extremely exciting to see him there.
Then one day, two finches showed up – a Blue Waxbill and a Paradise Whydah both came for a drink.
None of this viewing would be possible without the wonderful people who work at the lodge and who spend some time panning and zooming the camera at just the right times.
I also recommend that you join the forum – or at least read the forum because the people there are very friendly and helpful as you learn what the animals and birds are.
In the forum area, you will also find both an animal and a bird database with descriptions and pictures of the birds and animals native to the area. I was surprised to find that the Green Singing Finch attended the Nkorho waterhole on a day that I was not there. You can see the bird database at Africam Bird DataBase The Green Singing Finch is listed under Yellow Fronted Canary.
UPDATE Friday January 16th, 2009 is birding day at Nkorho Lodge. The camera will be focusing on birds (although certainly not ignoring the other animals that arrive).
When you get to the Africam site, click on Nkorho Stream to find the waterhole.
A New waterhole camera has opened up since I originally wrote this article. You can also see streaming video at Elephant Plans.
