If video is not appearing above, click here to refresh this page. Also try clearing your browser cache, closing and restarting your browser or restarting your device.
Welcome to “Season Three” of our osprey cam! Get ready for another exciting season of osprey viewing at the Waquoit Bay Reserve, brought to you by the Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge
If you’d like to show your appreciation for the nest cam, please Support the Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge! As a nonprofit volunteer organization, we support a wide variety of education, research and stewardship projects within the Mashpee Refuge to ensure the long-term protection and enhancement of native wildlife and habitats.
Thank you in advance!
We are thrilled to offer this live stream of an active pair of Osprey at their nest at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The pair are appropriately named Rachel and Carson, after the famed environmentalist.
This opportunity for a bird’s eye view of a beloved bird’s habitat is the result of a collaboration between The Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge, which helped plan and locate the site for this unique “nest cam,” the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of the Refuge partners, and Comcast, which generously provided the equipment, installation and broadband connectivity to power this viewing experience.
One of our goals as a community-based nonprofit is to give the public opportunities to enjoy and interact with nature and wildlife. Thanks to Comcast, the live streaming of this osprey nest will broaden our reach to all of Cape Cod and beyond. We are grateful for the opportunity to use the live nest cam for observation, research and education purposes.
View highlights from 2024 (“Season Three”)
View highlights from 2023 (“Season Two”)
View highlights from last year (“Season One”) – mating, egg laying and hatching, feeding and more!
Please feel free to comment below with your observations or any questions you may have. We welcome your comments and questions! If you’d like to see a list of questions other viewers have asked, please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Ospreys and the Nest Cam. You may also want to read this article to learn more about ospreys on Cape Cod.
Please note that first-time posters must be approved before comments are displayed, and allow up to 24 hours before your initial post can be seen by others.
8:04 – they are both hanging out at the nest tonight. Do they know something we don’t re: eggs coming soon?
I don’t see any eggs and it is dark out 7:52 pm on 4/11. The male is standing in the nest.
Pretty Amazing, the nest they have built ,can’t wait for the eggs
i love it! Its so cool to see them live and what they are doing!!
This is most amazing. I will watch often! I follow the nest near South Cape beach each year and have seen the babies fledge. Truly wonderful. Thank you!
In the spirit of being Cape Cod inhabitants. The new sisters to be, should be named Seashell and Beach Rose!
Do they only breed when they are here? Or do they mate again in their other home in the southern hemisphere?
That’s a great question! The ospreys on Cape Cod are migratory birds and breed only in the spring or summer while they are here. There are some ospreys that live year-round in warmer climates and would breed there.
So they are snowbirds?
Their main home – the one with the nest – is the Cape for the summer.
that is so cool
Very cool! No eggs yet? This is going to be fun to watch. Thank you for doing it.
We’re keep a close eye on when the first egg is laid. Hopefully this will be in the next week or so. If anyone sees it happen, please post the data and time in a comment so we can retrieve the recording and post the clip. Thanks!
Ricky and Lucy
How close to the nest is the camera located?
Thanks~
The camera is mounted to a pole about 4-5 feet to the side of the nest
This is terrific. Any chance to get sound? I love hearing the screeching.
There is a control button under the camera view that allows you to listen to recorded osprey calls while viewing. Next year, we will add live sound!
At least one viewer asked whether the birds have names. While we want to be respectful that these are still wild animals, we’re open to suggestions of nicknames we can use to refer to the birds. If anyone wants to make a name suggestion, please add it in the comment field. We may then follow up with some type of poll to narrow down the list. Thanks in advance for any input!
You should name the bigger one Sean
Great idea! Here are some names that we came up with….
Mama Bird – Polly, Ethel, Lucy, Chickadee, Blue, Marcia Brady, Zenora, Tweety
Papa Bird – Templeton, Mario, Elvis, Larry Bird, Peanut, Airwolf
Mama Bird – Sharon Osprey
Papa Bird – Ozzie Osprey
i Like blue and peanut
Last year they were Rachel and Carson
I have seen them mating a couple of times. How soon should we expect eggs to follow?
Egg laying usually follows about 10 days after mating. Once the first egg is laid, it may be followed by 2-3 more, each between 1-3 days apart.
Thank you for the opportunity to watch a nest!
Where are the birds? The nest is empty.
Until the eggs are laid, the adults come and go – to gather nest material, hunt for fish, or just perch elsewhere in the area. Sometimes they will even sleep on a nearby tree. Once there are eggs, at least one bird will always be there to protect them from predators.
Hi. This is awesome! Can’t wait for the eggs and chicks! I don’t seem to have sound. Am I doing something wrong or is the feed video only? Thanks!
If you scroll down more on the page there is a sound clip of an osprey call. This year is only live video and next year it says they will be adding sound.
Great cam! Thanks for setting this up.
Hello again! We have a few additional questions for you….
-What size are the full grown ospreys?
-Do they have names? Do you know how old they are?
-How long do they stay at the nest? Where do they go in the winter?
-How long can an osprey fly without taking a break?
We can’t wait to see the baby ospreys!!
Wow – thanks for the great questions! Adult ospreys weigh only about 4 pounds but can have a wingspan of up to 6 feet. We don’t know how old this pair is, but they typically live between 15-20 years They will stay at the nest until the Fall, then fly to Central or South America where they spend the winter. They will return again in the Spring to the same nest. So they can fly very far, thousands of miles per year! Much of this trip is over water so there are not many resting places.
Thanks for this. Nice compliment to the Dubois library peregrine falcon cam at UMASS.
This is amazing, thanks for doing it. I check in several times a day and feel privileged to have such a great first hand view. They are truly spectacular and I can’t wait to see the chicks. Thanks so much, for the opportunity to look into their world.
Is this a new nest platform?
Are these young birds building their first nest?
The nest has been there for several years, so this is probably a returning pair of ospreys. We don’t know how many years this pair has occupied the nest, but with the camera in place, we’ll have a better idea moving forward.
Thank you so much for providing this opportunity to watch these magnificent birds!
awesome so glad i found this cam thank you
Thanks for this great opportunity to see the Ospreys nesting. I’m curious to know the size of the nest.
Hi Diana, glad you’re enjoying the view! Osprey nests can range in size anywhere from 3-6 feet in diameter. At the end of the season, we’ll be able to get an accurate measurement of its size.
Great webcam!
I look forward to watching them all season.
Is there a way to tell the male from the female?
Hi Karen. Thanks for your comment! It’s easier to tell them apart when they are together. The female is larger and has a more pronounced mottled “necklace” in front. She also has a larger brown spot in the forehead area. If you’re still watching right now, I think that’s the female in the nest.
Thank you.
Please get sound, even from below. They are chatting away!
This is great. Look forward to checking in on them periodically.
Awesome!
Thank you for allowing the public an up close view of the ospreys!! So happy to have them back In Waquoit Bay!
This is awesome!!
Have a pole on my land, Mccallum Drive
About time the nest building has begun again!!! My guess is that the female is trying to add these sticks to the sides while the male watches on, while having a meal??? the “builder” just flew off for another piece of one side. this is very interesting.
Hi Bill!
So beautiful! Thank you Kate for sharing!
It is now 10:00 PM on Friday… so where are they? They can’t hunt at night, right? They aren’t going anywhere near the ground where predators roam, right? The light from the camera doesn’t freak them out, right? I dn’t see any remains of food in the nest; that is serious or NOT??? Some years, we see them fishing up at the headwaters of their closest river. ON the Mashpee, they head up to Mashpee /Wakeby Pond and fish there for a few weeks until the run is full of herring. I bet they are happy when they don’t have to eat freshwater fish????? “Yuck… I hate those catfish.” says MR and Mrs. Osprey.
Bill, thanks for your questions! Until their eggs are laid, the ospreys spend time sleeping and roosting in nearby trees. At this point, their main effort is re-building the nest, so it doesn’t need constant protection from predators. There is no light shining on the nest at night. The nest cam uses infrared (IR) technology for “night vision.” The IR spectrum is invisible to both humans and birds. Thanks again for your comments!
We are enjoying watching these beautiful birds! We have a few questions…
When can we expect to see the ospreys lay their eggs?
How many eggs do they usually lay?
What will the babies eat?
How long once they hatch until they are full grown?
Thanks!
Glad you are enjoying it! The eggs are usually laid in late April, typically between 2-4 eggs one at a time a few days apart. The eggs will hatch about 5 weeks later. The adults will catch fish and bring them back to the nest to feed the chicks. The chicks grow quickly – they’ll be almost full-grown in about a month and will learn to fly in about 2 months. Stay tuned!
Great job. When do the eggs usually hatch? Thanks!
Typically, between 5-6 weeks once the eggs are laid.
Daughter saw 6 feeding up the Mashpee River on Monday; some on local small fish (mumichugs) and some on full sized herring. A bit early this year.
The new camera is awesome. After many years of the Friends group helping osprey by erecting and repairing nesting platforms, now everyone can watch and enjoy all the action!
Fantastic, great job everyone!
Congrats Katelyn! Wishing you the best on your new adventures! 🙂
The Ospreys have landed! Welcome!
Waiting patiently for the return of the osprey. Should be any day now! Stay tuned…