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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.
Charlie sleeping?
everybody sleeping…….some of them standing up and on one leg
7:42pm Dad with the kids. Looks like calling out to their mother to return.
Great news that Alpha’s back and looks to be in fine shape. One down and two to go. This is so exciting to be able to watch! 🙂
4 birds visible in nest at 6:45 pm July 20.
Yes, will find it and post tomorrow morning!
Hi Glenn, 7/20 @ about 6:05pm -06/10pm Alpha made the perfect landing…did you find video of this to post? I really want to see again. So amazing! Thank you!
Just posted it, Dena, from takeoff to perfect landing. Great to watch the remaining chicks track it!
Fantastic! Thanks
I saw Alpha land 6:10ish. Amazing landing!!!
6:10 Alpha has returned. Successful 1st day 🤗
5:49 m July 20, now have a better view and see Rachel and 2 chicks in the nest.
7/20/22-5:45 pm. Rachel and one chick in nest??
Found it! The first chick fledged at 5:33 this morning. See the latest highlight. We haven’t seen it return, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t eating. It’s possible Carson brought a fish to another location (could be a tree or even a moored boat) for the fledged chick to eat. I’d guess all 3 chicks will be back at the nest tonight.
Took right off without hesitation! Thanks, Glenn!
Does fledging mean leaving the nest for good? I thought it just meant a first big flight and returning.
Looks like 3 in the nest now – 1 adult and 2 chicks. 4:12 pm 7/20/22
Last night I saw a bird coosing to stand on only one foot – what is that about? It was after midnight 7/19/22. Sometimes the 2nd foot would come down.
Choosing to be on only 1 leg
The “fledged” chick has been gone a long time which means a long time without nutrition and hydration.
carson just dropped off a fish at 2:55pm and took off. it’s rachel and 2 kids and looks like she’s feeding one of them (who’s also picking at the fish). will the one that fledged return to the nest??
rachels rump keeps getting dangerously close to the camera
Fish just delivered by Carson at 2:53 – Rachel seems hungry! The two chicks are watching her eat, and then Carson left.
2:34 Rachel and two chicks at the nest, maybe 10 mins 15 mins ago it looked like Rachel ( fully dark back with no white markings on wing tips) and only one chick. Maybe a second fledge?
2:48 PM Rachel and two chicks still in nest. One young one laying down, one young one standing near perch and Rachel standing with wings slightly apart shading the young one laying down (most likely Charlie). Rachel was probably blocking view of young chick in earlier post.
I read that when a young osprey first flies from the nest they are taught to fish, mainly by the male adult. Maybe they will train one at a time. Mom probably teaching them food dropped at their feet will be less and less, pretty near time to fend for themselves 😊
Good wing stretch after lunch…lotta calling to someone flying above as well.
Bravo is eating first, Charlie is waiting…shorter line so should work out….
Charlie is center for lunch now!
I think Rachel just arrived at the nest with a fish.
Honestly is getting hard to tell who’s who.
Anyone know how long Alpha will stay away from the nest?
As far as I can tell, only one of the chicks has fledged, presumably Alpha. I have not been able to find the moment if flew off. If anyone has an idea of the time, please post the approximate timer and I’ll search for it. Also if you see one of the remaining two fledge. Thanks!
Maybe 2a to 7a/9a this morning. From earlier comments today closer to 7:30a
When I checked in at 6am looked like two chicks and Rachel.
At 7am definitely only two chicks on nest
Or let’s say 7-7:30 am 🤔🥴😂 I hate to say definitely cause maybe it was a tad later but right around then……..should have written down the time
Lunch delivered by Rachel at 1:30 pm.
Suggestion — to help those of us who are easily confused: If you’re posting something about a nest other than Waquoit, would you PLEASE IDENTIFY THE NEST so we all will know what you’re referring to? I know I’d be extremely appreciative and I suspect others would as well.
I see Bravo (?) and definitely Charlie @ 1:10
Hilarious stick housekeeping at 1233-35
At 12:07 PM, only 1 osplet left in nest!
What nest are you referring to??
Waquoit
Don, what nest??? This is getting confusing.
It must have been another nest. At 12:07, there were two in the nest at Waquoit.
That’s why I was confused — I was clearly (even with the poopy lens) seeing 2 and not 1. After looking around online a little, I think Don may have been referring to the Brewster nest? That’s why nest IDs would be really nice if other than WB.
Hi Claire,
Probably, (most definitely) dating myself but this sounds like the old Abbott and Costello skit “Who’s on First” Hilarious.
Please someone say they remember that!!!!!
Good old Who, What, and I Don’t Know! 🙂
And they’re off!! Two more to go. Wonderful to experience this.
Michelle, not sure what you mean by “they’re off.” Are you referring to the Waquoit nest where just one has fledged so far (as far as I know) or another nest where two have fledged?
The Brewster nest?
There were only two in the nest and Rachel as best as I could tell at 6am
I guess it’s fledge day. One of the Brewster chicks joined the party.
Only 2 birds in the nest at 8:41 on 07/20!!
There were three in the nest yesterday morning. So one fledged sometime in the afternoon.
there were 3 when I went to bed. One was frequently flying up high enough to disappear from the cam and then would land back down on the other side of the nest and just flying back and forth in the nest. I kept expecting that one to fly off last night
Wish I’d seen that!
Betsy, I saw all 3 in the nest late yesterday afternoon. Alpha looked like she was ready to go, but the parked cars and people gathered below the nest seemed to keep her from an attempted fledge.
I see Rachel and 2 osplets in the nest. Did one of the two oldest ones fledge since late yesterday?
Yes.
Yea! Hope she returns to the nest today or tomorrow. The other big one (#2?) looks like she/he is raring to go as well.
I don’t know if it was #1 or #2 that fledged.
According to Glenn, it was “presumably Alpha”.
Also only saw 2 this morning, Carmen returned at 805.
7/20 at 7:48 am. 1of the 2 remaining birds is busy flapping wings with some lift, jumping, hopping from one nest edge to another.
I am amazed the last egg is still in the nest unbroken!
I am sure there will be an exciting video replay that will be posted for all to view!
7/20/22 at 7:42 AM. Looks like there are only two birds in the nest.
chicks are now standing on one leg for extended periods of time.
All three chicks sleeping peacefully this evening! All lined up together.
Guess they’re not quite ready to leave…Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie…peaceful.
Great photo!
Thanks for posting it.