Bird Cam

Want to do your bird watching without ever leaving the couch? A firm called Wingscapes has introduced what it calls the BirdCam — a motion-activated, 3.1-megapixel camera that can snap digital stills or video of birds (or anything else, for that matter, but it’s geared for birds).

As someone who has been known to stand at the window with a pair of binoculars in his hands (looking at the birds, of course, and that black trench coat is just for warmth), I can appreciate the desire to do this kind of thing remotely. Obviously, if you’re doing research or are a true bird lover (or “birder,” as I just discovered they’re called), this seems like a natural fit.

Still, there’s something sterile about it. It reminds me of the “remote control hunting” controversy, where a Texas ranch set up a rifle and Web cam that could let people kill animals from their living rooms.

Apparently there’s an untapped market for people who want to hunt or observe nature without, you know, being in nature.