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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.
So exciting the first egg. 🥰
Possible names:
Gosnold & Bearse
Mash & Pee
Captain & Frosty
Nantucket & Martha
Sagamore & Bourne
Is the nest built on a platform built for ospreys?
So exciting!!!
10:25 a.m., 4/14/22: Noticing several small birds visiting the nest and helping themselves to very small twigs and flying off with them.
Very exciting to see the first egg! Eggs are laid between 1-3 days apart. Keep a close watch for more. We’ll try to post a video of the actual egg laying.
Thank you soooo sooo much for this – we have several nests near where I live (Hyannis) but to babe such a close up view is so exciting – also the info is fascinating so thanks again!
I was just thinking the same thing with the egg. Just 1 so far.
An egg? Looks more like a sea shell — I follow a North Shore nest — the eggs have always been white!
They can be cream/white or pink/cranberry speckled.
How interesting! Thanks for letting me know!
An egg!
There is an egg today!!
I see an egg!!! congratulations mama!
We see an EGG this am! So enjoying the cam its great thanks for doing this!
7:45 am April 14, 2022. Observed first egg!
I see an egg!
I have been tuning in, while doing my overnight shift for the past two nights.
Very strange, that the nest is empty at night. Where do they go?
If you go in close, they are sitting on the perch at night
Just saw mom and dad mating. Been checking ever so often. What a treat.
Maybe Harry and Meghan, cause they are treated as Royalty!
-Admired and Adored
I’m enjoying this so much and sharing with friends.
How about Cran and Barry for names?
I was wondering about egg laying and found the following short video which is fine except for the voices at the very end.
https://youtu.be/jp-1Pb9sU5Q
Well Ozzie was not too happy when Harriet returned without lunch : ) hahaha
Ozzie & Harriet
Love this. Thank you!
Love Love Love!
Thank you for this!
very cool – so much for getting my work done!
they should’ve put dowels around the edges that would’ve held the branches in place during a wind storm and help the nest from being blown off it’s base
This is wonderful! I’m so happy to learn about it in today’s Cape Cod Times.
How can one tell when the nest is done? There is a branch with green needles today.
Osprey nests can be over 10 feet deep. They will add to it each year. Much of this nest was blown away over the winter so the birds have been rebuilding since they returned on March 21st. I suppose it won’t really be “done” until eggs are laid.
WOW!
Thank you. I’ll return & head towards the nest in the right direction.
Hi. I was just at the Waquoit park trying to find the osprey nest,however, I’m not sure what direction it’s located. If I’m facing the water what direction should I head toward. Many paths to follow. The video is wonderful. Beautiful birds
The nest platform is located just to the right of the driveway as you approach the visitor center.
Wonderful site and so interesting to have a “birds eye view “ of nature in living color!
I notice that the Ospreys have some House Sparrow tenants in the basement.
Great observation! This is not unusual. The ospreys don’t seem to mind, and the smaller birds gain added protection from predators.
I am fascinated and addictied to the Osprey.
How old is this nest? Have this pair nested here in previous years?
Thanks
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.
What a treat! Thank you to all involved!
Wonderful!
Hi–Is that a light on the nest? If so, doesn’t it disturb them?
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.
9:12pm – the female is still hanging out beyond the nest – isn’t it past her bedtime?