Can’t Hit the Road? These Texas Livestreams Have You Covered

In a state as big as Texas, it was once impossible to see everything. Until the advent of livestreams.

Several websites now show real-time streaming videos of everything from planes landing at DFW International Airport to waves crashing on the beaches of the Bolivar Peninsula to what’s happening on campus at Texas State. And you can watch them all from the comfort of your couch.

I like to look at our state’s many nature and animal livestreams, especially during Texas summers, when I’m hunkered down indoors. These entertaining, popular feeds include zoos, national and state parks, and even backyard bird feeders. For instance, every spring the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Athena the Owl Cam gets around 1,000 daily viewers who are anxious to see the hatching and rearing of Athena’s owlets.

Installing cameras to witness nature in action was a no-brainer, according to Scott Simon, director of marketing and communications.

“Athena, our resident great horned owl, had returned to her nesting site at the Wildflower Center repeatedly for years,” he says. “As a nature-focused organization, it felt right for us to share this amazing annual event with a wider audience.”

Simon adds that prior to the camera installation, staff and guests could only guess when owlets were hatching.

“Now the entire nesting season is an up-close experience,” he says. That bird’s-eye view on the livestream has led to an increase in visitors eager to see the horned owls in person.

But while I love those birds, I confess that my favorite Texas livestream is a bit more beefy: the Big Texan’s 72-ounce steak challenge dining room camera. Marketing director Patrick Lee told me that views spiked during the pandemic. Now, on average, about 500 people each day tune in to watch eaters at the Amarillo restaurant attempt to finish a 4.5-pound steak—plus sides—in an hour. Over the years, there have been internet forums where people discuss what’s happening on the stream, and they’ve even had people call the restaurant to tell them when challengers cheat by slipping pieces of meat in their pockets.

“We also get calls from bars in Australia or Europe that play the livestream asking questions like, ‘Did they finish?’ or, ‘Can you move the camera?’” Lee says. “A lot of times they’re betting if the competitor will finish or not.”

This fan base is solid proof that Texan livestreams are a great way to experience and learn more about our state—and that some people are very serious about competitive steak eating.

But what I hear most from avid watchers is that they find the often slow and gentle action on livestreams to be meditative and the perfect thing to have on in the background. They can help with homesickness, too. Like if you really miss seeing the sunset in a city park in Tyler.

Here are Lone Star State livestreams worth the watch:

The Houston Zoo

Check in on your favorite critters at the Houston Zoo. There’s a webcam for flamingos, giraffes, gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, and more.

Watch here.