A flying vehicle that mimics birds wing flapping to generate flight is referred to as an ornithopter. In this paper, an ornithopter implementation will be described, including the design, development, and utilization of a surveillance ornithopter for field monitoring and security purposes. Drones are operationally better and easier for humans to work with, however, they are typically loud, excessive on battery, and visible in the environment - not the best of alternatives and useful in sensitive scenarios. The biomimicry of an ornithopter means a quiet, effective vehicle that can travel and become camouflaged in the environment. A survey of the key stages in the development of the ornithopter will be discussed, flapping wing aerodynamics, thin material fabrics, mechanical structure, control systems (e.g., electronic gyros/GPS modules/cameras for real-time observation), and animal/trespass detection. Problems and challenges will be presented and discussed as well, like lift, flight stability, device miniaturization for stealth and mobility. In summary this paper illustrates great opportunity for combining efficiency of flight with engineering design to create an environmentally friendly intelligent platform for aerial surveillance technologies. Overall the ornithopter has exciting potential to be an important development in aerial surveillance technologies.