Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab?

Posted by missmoss on Saturday July 25, 2026 @12:59PM
from the ask-hn dept.

I recently found the Brooks Falls bear cam (Katmai, Alaska). It's become the calmest thing on my screen.

It's peak salmon run right now, so it's basically bears and their all-you-can-eat salmon feast.

But there's a bear that only fishes by belly-flopping at the salmon, and as far as I can tell has never once caught anything. I have no idea how it's still eating.

A few others just sit in the water doing nothing at all.

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ZrIDvqlic

What's yours?

( 21 comments | 15 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by vermarish on Saturday July 25, 2026 @03:59PM (#49050980)

Not me, but my dentist always keeps one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's livestreams in her office.

Sea otters: https://www.youtube.com/live/abbR-Ttd-cA

Jellyfish: https://www.youtube.com/live/eQ_foBERmzA

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by wormpilled on Saturday July 25, 2026 @04:03PM (#49051017)

I have a few fireplace/campfire videos downloaded locally that I put on while reading.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by mtmail on Saturday July 25, 2026 @03:47PM (#49050875)

Namibia water hole https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYDqZQpim8

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by fullstick on Saturday July 25, 2026 @01:21PM (#49049531)

Colorado Rattlesnake Cam https://www.youtube.com/live/1ERXpC-Nv8o

They have babies in August

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by missmoss on Saturday July 25, 2026 @01:37PM (#49049718)

Weirdly soothing to watch it slowly reposition itself

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by saaaaaam on Saturday July 25, 2026 @02:06PM (#49050027)

I don’t use YouTube much so I had no idea anything like this existed! Thank you.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by wj on Saturday July 25, 2026 @05:11PM (#49051609)

Brooks bears are wonderful. The sound is calming. I also like Surfline:

https://www.youtube.com/live/hm9iAviOZ20?is=zkOMcU_8Sck0LOer

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by missmoss on Saturday July 25, 2026 @10:26PM (#49054038)

Love that sound. I could sit at the beach all day

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by wcchandler on Saturday July 25, 2026 @05:22PM (#49051728)

Level 2 stocks, usually includes GameStop. Often the chat is the more interesting part. Lots of eyes, people watching and spotting trends and anomalies. I’ve learned a lot and it pays for my hobbies but if I wasn’t invested or already had a good idea of how markets worked, I’d likely be disinterested.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by NalNezumi on Saturday July 25, 2026 @06:52PM (#49052587)

Not on YouTube I think but my friend to told me about the great elk migration 24/7 stream in Sweden is her yearly favorite thing. I think one can watch it on SVT homepage

https://youtu.be/Pz35sXPjo2c?si=tEP5TlI8rDqWccb9

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by missmoss on Saturday July 25, 2026 @10:40PM (#49054139)

I love this already. Slow-moving large animals are an instant yes for me

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by tetris11 on Saturday July 25, 2026 @07:08PM (#49052710)

My doorbell camera. It's like sitting on the stoop watching the world go by

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by missmoss on Saturday July 25, 2026 @10:35PM (#49054103)

This makes perfect sense. My friend's cat is basically into window TV too

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by dd-sharma on Saturday July 25, 2026 @07:34PM (#49052925)

I maybe in minority on this. I can focus only on one thing at a time. I fail miserably if I try even background music. It would play but I probably wouldn't register. And if I hear the music then my work will take at least twice as longer.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by conductr on Saturday August 01, 2026 @01:45PM (#49136640)

Same for me, I have no multitask mode

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by danshipt on Sunday July 26, 2026 @10:20AM (#49058506)

If I find a nice (YT) video, I download it and play it locally.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by zenith605 on Sunday July 26, 2026 @12:43PM (#49059847)

Renesse aan Zee — a square in a Dutch seaside town. Cafes, bikes, people wandering past. Closest thing to the doorbell-cam feeling someone mentioned above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMgVXcPwxtQ

I keep a directory of these so I ended up counting: that one has been live without a break for 8 years and 47 days, the oldest I've found. Most don't come close — median across the ~2,000 live cams I track is 193 days. Stream keys expire, power goes out, storms take the camera down.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by UltimateEdge on Sunday July 26, 2026 @07:02PM (#49063261)

Corfe Castle Station Webcam: https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/webcams

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by sixthDot on Sunday July 26, 2026 @10:18PM (#49064504)

Some streams of the EarthCam channel (Temple Bar, New Orlean, etc). A bit of Virtual Railroad fans too (Revelstoke, Flagstaff, etc). Truck driving lives (esp. because of engine sounds, good for concentration). During U.S winter storms some random storm-chasers lives.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by kentich on Saturday August 01, 2026 @06:34AM (#49133076)

I keep ProductTrailers.xyz open when I'm eating my breakfast. It's a TV channel for Product Hunt launches.

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Re:Ask HN: What livestream do you keep open in a tab? by daemon_9009 on Sunday August 02, 2026 @02:42PM (#49147140)

back in college i used to stream family guy on my ipad, but now i just play some piano

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