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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.
8:37 AM Was that Charlie that flew off for about 30 seconds, circled around, and then landed (fairly well) back in the nest?
7:53 # 2 does another one of its short flights
Where is Alpha?
Hopefully in a nearby tree enjoying some shade!
7/23/22, 7:50 am, observing Rachel, Bravo and Charlie enjoying a fish breakfast. Each got a good share of the meal.
Looks like mom and Charlie are enjoying breakfast
Was that Charlie that just flew into the nest (~7:15am, 7/23)?
It’s difficult to tell, but is smaller than Rachel and Bravo who are eating away and is somewhat timid to join in.
Carson just dropped in for a few seconds or so, then left.
Ken, I wasn’t watching at 7:15 but judging from what I just saw at 8:37 I think you’re guessing correctly about Charlie having officially fledged. Hope Glenn can confirm this for us.
I’ll see if I can figure it out. As we’re all aware, its been really hard telling one chick from the next. The one in the foreground always seems bigger, so unless they are side-by-side, relative size is hard to determine. We may not know for sure when Charlie fledges until all 3 are gone from the nest!
When I tuned in this morning around seven, Bravo was perched on the north corner of the nest; nobody else was in the nest. Then, somebody approached and landed (quite well, I should add) and I presumed it was Charlie. I distinguish him from the others from a smaller head size which makes his eyes seem larger. And. the orange coloring on Alpha’s and Bravos back of the neck is also distinguishing; Charlie seems to lack this color and neck size as well. Later on, he exhibited a timidity which his older siblings lack. Finally, he told me his name when I asked him.
LoL!
I reviewed the recordings and I think I can confirm that all 3 chicks have fledged! Just after 7am this morning, there was one chick in the nest (not sure which, so I’ll just call it #1), then Rachel returned about 7:10 with a fish. At 7:14 a second chick returned and the 2 chicks ate for a while. Then at 7:53, chick #1 flew off. I’m going to guess that the two chicks were Bravo and Charlie.
Ken, you should have just asked the osplet its name at the start and it would have been a lot easier! Two BIG thank-yous to Glenn and Ken for figuring out that as of today we have 3 fledglings! 🙂
All three on nest, this one sleeping hard upright, other two alert.
Mom and Dad arrive at 20:02 with a decent size pogy. # 2 immediately takes the fish from dad.
All 3 chicks in the nest right now – watching the skies for dinner!
Between 5:50 and 6:00 am this morning the B chick took two other short flights. The A chick and Rachel were already off the nest. After the second take off of the B chick, the C chick flapped like crazy bouncing all over the nest 😂. Thought for sure it would just take off but after the B chick returned it settled down in the nest for a snooze.
Good info T Y!!!
7/22 3:02 pm Bravo returned to the nest. Not sure of the lift off time.
If anyone is interested, there’s a great new display at the Waquoit Bay Reserve about ospreys. It includes clips from our highlights and other informational videos, along with a life-size nest, an egg, a skull and a talon. And of course, they are showing the live camera feed on a large screen all day long!
That sounds awesome!
This sounds amazing, Glenn! Thank you!!
Another even shorter flight by #2 at 12:08
After two very short flights yesterday, fledgling 2 seems reluctant to fly again.
On the Oxford nest, mom eating in peace alone. All three of her babies on the wing, That should soon happen here and our mom sure deserves it…….
Looks like Rachel eating now with Bravo? And Charlie trying to get a bite. I believe it was these three in the nest when I last checked last night. Did Alpha come back to the nest last night?
who’s the big eater here- not sharing! i can’t tell them apart from Momma
Absolutely priceless!!
Is Alpha still out on the town? I love when the ospreys move their heads from side to side. Not sure why they do it but it is so cute.
Happy to see a more adequate supply of food on this nest today.
all lined up
Annie what a fabulous screenshot of the Big Three! Rachel ad Carson’s proud production, all grown,
thanks for posting!
The one in the middle is Rachel, not one of the osplets — you can tell by the eye-stripe that matches Rachel’s (see attached screen capture I just took a few minutes ago). This was when Alpha was away from the nest. Rachel seemed to be sleepy and would close her eyes and drop her head from time to time, while the two chicks beside her were very alert and awake and constantly scanning the sky for their sibling.
The middle chick of the screenshot of 3 is definitely not Rachel.
If you look at the dark feathers they are edged in white, as only the chicks have.
Guess it must be Alpha, then. She’s a spittin’ image of her mom, including the distinctive shape of the top of their heads!
Who says A is a female……
Her HUGE size identifies her as female. (The reverse of that is what IDs Charlie as a male.)
That’s exactly what I saw at 11:10 AM. A 30 second flight but I could not be sure who did it as all 3 were on the nest.
You take the Best screenshots!!
Just posted the video of Bravo fledging. Some great close-ups at the end so watch it all! Thanks, a2z, for catching it live and posting the times!
Glen, Have a look at 11:10 Am and tell me who makes that flight. T Y!!
Just posted that segment also. I think that was Alpha, but not really sure. What do you think?
There is one way to tell, if you continue the 11:10 video, shortly (very shortly) thereafter the larger chick that has been gone all day flies off.
Fledge Week all around!
Second of the two Brewster chicks fledged today.
Sorry folks. I was wrong. Remaining larger chick on nest is practicing. 11:35 AM
It looks like it’s ready to go, doesn’t it? I keep expecting to see it launch itself any minute — but that’s been 2 hours so far and it still hasn’t decided to take that first big leap of faith. 🙂
11:15 AM There were 3 chicks in the nest and one just took off. Alpha again???
11:10 AM 99% sure we had a second fledge
Very brief flight but a flight, not a rise up and back down.
7/21 9:00 am. Interesting nest dynamics. Fish delivered to the nest, Alpha got ahold of it and ate about 2/3rds with no sharing. Rachel tried to take it away from Alpha on two occasions, but Alpha pecked at Mom. When Alpha was done eating the 3 birds shared what remained.
Alpha is definitely alpha he won’t even let his own mother have a bite of that fish The others have tried I would say that’ll make them really want to fly
9:17 The elder chick with fish even rejects moms advance on it
Alpha came back at 856 after a couple min flight…Charlie really wants to try too…. Fish delivered at 900, Alpha snatched it and wants it all.
One took off 8:56 am
Good morning all,
Just a quick comment …if anyone is down in the so main st, centerville / craigville beach area there are 3 active Osprey nests One on so main and two on craigville beach road
All have 3-4 ospreys in each nest
Thank you Joanne. 🙂
7/21/22, 7:58 AM, 3 in the nest.
Short flight, from one side of nest to the other.
ooops 7:24am Flapping not 7:34!
7:34am Big wing flapping and hopping by Alpha! Almost a take off! So exciting to watch our feathered kids thrive. Enjoy very much reading all the comments and observations!
6:50 am. July 21. Very cute …group nest keeping. Rachel brought some material.