It started with an empty box on a pole.
West Creek Hollow is a backyard in southern Michigan with four cameras pointed at it. There's a cedar nest box, two feeders, a copper bath, and a tree line at the back that everything stages in before coming out into the open.
The idea was simple enough: put up a nest box, point a camera at it, and see who moves in. It turned out there was rather more to it — where a pole sits relative to a tree, how deep water has to be before a bird trusts it, why a brand new feeder can sit untouched for three weeks. Most of that is written up under the setup and in the field notes.
The box is still empty. Nesting season in Michigan runs March through July, so it will stay that way for a while. In the meantime the feeders have gotten busy, the goldfinches have become regulars, and there are eleven species on the ledger.
Who watches
More people than expected leave it running for their cats. Others have it on while they work, or study, or clean the house. A few watch properly, which we like best of all.
None of it is edited or narrated. When nothing is happening, nothing is happening — that seems to be part of the appeal.
The habitat
The longer project is the yard itself. Native plants, more cover, less lawn, no pesticides. More species will come if there's genuinely more here for them, and the count on the ledger is the honest measure of whether that's working.
Get in touch
Questions about the setup, the birds, or the stream are welcome in the live chat during broadcast hours, or on any of the channels below.