Lights go on at 630 am, off at 7pm. They usually wake up around 8pm but do not get really active until around 11pm. They are pretty active also before the light comes on in the morning. None of my pics are taken during day light, I flip on their light to snap pics or use flash with the room light on. There isn't really a way to 'watch' them. You just stay up late and peek in on them with a flash light.