LiveStream Videos
*Our cameras are powered by sunlight via a solar panel and battery storage system, so they’re sometimes down.
Rowe Sanctuary
Platte River, Central Nebraska
About the Location
Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary, formally known as Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, aims to preserve and protect the Platte River ecosystem and its bird species. The sanctuary offers tours along the Platte during crane migration season and educates about Nebraska cranes via school lectures and summer camps.
The Subject
Positioned to get a sky-high view, this camera captures a wide area of Sandhill Cranes and river wildlife such as deer, bobcats, and other birds. As the cranes hunt for food during the day, the best time to monitor them will be during sunrise or sunset.
Lake McConaughy
Western Nebraska
About the Location
Mounted on a communication tower on top of a public power and irrigation district office in western Nebraska, this camera overlooks Kingsley Dam. On the left of the dam lies Lake McConaughy and on the right, Lake Ogallala.
The Subject
At twenty miles long, four miles wide, and 142 feet deep, Lake McConaughy presides as the largest reservoir in Nebraska. Nested on the opposite side of Kingsley Dam is the “little lake,” Lake Ogallala. Although created as an overfill space for Lake McConaughy material during the construction of the dam, the half-mile long and quarter-mile wide “little lake” has become an important recreation spot for fisherman and boaters alike. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commision supports the Lake McConaughy State Recreation Center, and the lake is a popular destination for watersports, camping, and hunting.
Beaver Lodge
Central Platte River, Crane Trust Property
About the Location
Located on the Crane Trust Property, this lodge is protected as part of their 10,000 acres of conserved prairie on the Big Bend region of the Platte River in Nebraska.
The Subject
This beaver lodge separates a manmade lake from a beaver-inhabited wetland. American beavers are the primary inhabitants of this lodge, but other popular sights here are great blue herons, American coots, red-winged blackbirds, and painted turtles. A recent study showed that beaver activity soars in the summer and fall, but drops off during the colder months when other animals utilize the woody home.
Gudmundsen Ranch
Nebraska Sandhills
About the Location
Since 1981, the researchers at the UNL Gmundsen Research Station have been studying the ecology, economics, and geology of the Nebraska Sandhills. Gudmundsen’s 1,200 acres of wetland prairies and 11,600 acres of sandhills allow for extensive research opportunities in this rare and unique ecosystem.
The Subject
The windmill captured in this camera is one of several windmills on the Gudmundsen property. Each windmill pulls water from the Ogallala Aquifer, and cows gather around the pool to drink or cool off on a hot day.
Mahoney State Park
Eastern Nebraska
About the Location
Located on the observation tower at Mahoney State Park between Lincoln and Omaha, this camera gives a bird’s eye view of the Lower Platte River Valley and surrounding wooded bluffs.
The Subject
The river here is mainly fed by groundwater from the Loup River Basin, which drains a large portion of the Nebraska Sandhills, entering the Platte near Columbus, Nebraska. The location is near Lincoln’s well field, where the city of 250,000 draws most of its water supply. Watch as the river changes dramatically over the seasons. Floods, ice jams, dry river beds, and braided channels are what this camera will witness.
Missouri River
Eastern Nebraska
About the Location
Located on top of the Kiewit Luminarium in downtown Omaha, this camera gives a bird's eye view of the Missouri River, Bob Kerry Pedestrain Bridge, and surrounding bluffs. The Kiewit Luminarium is a place for people of all ages, identities, and backgrounds to explore astonishing phenomena at the intersection of science, art, and human perception.
The Subject
The Missouri River originates in the Rocky Mountains of Montana in the United States. It begins as a small stream on the slopes of the Continental Divide in the Centennial Mountains, near the border between Montana and Idaho. The Missouri River is one of the longest rivers in North America. The river levels fluctuate from year to year, and boaters can be frequently seen from this camera.
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