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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.
6:12pm Charlie is in the nest!
I was thrilled to see Charlie in the nest tonight, I missed him. This really is a double edged sword kind of thing isn’t it? We want him to thrive but good heavens, don’t leave us!!!
Also, I think I mentioned this before, but we are co-sponsoring an event “Celebrate Osprey and Estuaries” at the Waquoit Bay Reserve on Sunday September 18th from 12-3pm. Highlights include boat tours of Waquoit Bay, a talk by Dr. Alan Poole, the author of two books about ospreys, and a live concert featuring Out Late with Diana Di Gioia. More details and registration instructions to follow soon.
A couple of people have expressed interest in donating to support the nest cam, particularly the addition of audio for next year (and a windshield wiper!). THANK YOU for the offer to start a fundraiser! Many of you have already donated to the Friends of Mashpee NWR. If you haven’t (or want to support us further), the “Support Us” link at the top of the page is the easiest way to donate. If you contribute by PayPal, there’s a place to add an optional note – write “Osprey Cam” and we’ll know what it’s intended for. Our sponsor, Comcast, has already indicated they will install a microphone, but I’m going to see if there are other enhancements we might be able to add for next year. Meanwhile, we appreciate your support of all our efforts, including the nest cam, work we’ve done to install and repair other osprey nest platforms, supporting native pollinators and wildlife habitats. Thank you all again for the kind words and encouragement! Keep watching – the return of Charlie today tells us the season is not over yet. Who knows what we’ll see over the next month or so.
I was at the Reserve this morning and there were 3 ospreys flying right above the nest. I caught a picture of 2 of them. No idea which ones they are.
Nice pic, wish I could fly
Charlie/Charline still on the nest at 3:45. Lots of preening, wing flapping, calling, and just watching the world. Nice to get some last views! 😊
He couldn’t leave us all that abruptly 😍
Charlie’s back!🙂🙂
welcome back charlie!!! hope you enjoyed your overnight and that you got some training on how to feed yourself.
Awww Charlies back!
Can tell by head markings
OH MY GOODNESS…..what a surprise…..could it be Charlie??? It seems to be acting like him/ her and is sitting on the favorite perch.🤗
8/19 at 14:14 someone is back at the nest. Perhaps Charlie? I missed the landing so not sure how long he/she has been there.
2:12 a bird is in the nest, not sure when it returned
Beautiful landing at 2:05 pm.
Thanks Glenn for all your time this spring/ summer keeping the site operational. As others have said it was great fun and educational to watch the Rachel and Carson show. While sitting on my deck today overlooking Childs River a young Osprey landed in a tree in the yard with a fish and decided to stay and have lunch. One can only hope it is Charlie, but since there are so many other nests in the area it could be a fledging from one of those. In any case hoping all of Rachel and Carson’s babies are having a day similar to this fledging.
It may be had to see, but the arrow is pointing to the bird.
Fledgling on the nest at 2:05 pm!
Curious….does the camera stay on or does it get shut down?
We haven’t decided this for sure. Our hosting provider has indicated they will continue the feed in the off season at no cost, and if that’s the case, barring any technical issues resulting from cold or snow, we’ll leave it running. Who knows what we’ll see in the winter months.
thanks ….that would be interesting to see
🙂
Thank you Glenn and your team for this marvelous experience. I have learned so much about our Cape Cod Ospreys. Thanks also to all who contributed comments and who shared information that enhanced the learning process. To Rachel and Carson, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Ospreys, thank you for allowing us into your lives. Best wishes for safe travels. If we should view an osprey doing the moon walk, we will know it is Charlie. See you next season!
Thank you, Glenn and everyone responsible for this. It has been part of my morning routine, and I am thrilled that Charlie is off on his own(and a little sad!) Hope to follow again next year.
It’s been an incredible first season of our up-close view of the osprey nest at the Waquoit Bay Reserve! Incredible on so many levels! The most obvious was the opportunity to watch every moment of the lives of our nesting pair, Rachel and Carson, from building their nest, to mating, to laying eggs, watching them hatch and watching the chicks develop from hatchlings to fledglings.
They’ve given us quite a show, in some ways predictable but sometimes full of surprises (like dead-on “poop shots” to the camera lens!). We’ve watched sibling rivalries and seemingly affectionate visits from other, possibly related, birds. We’ve learned from our own observations and from one another.
On yet another level, we’ve experienced the formation of a special bond among our community of viewers, asking and answering questions, learning from one another, expressing our joy and wonder for the beauty of nature, and providing support and comfort during its darker moments. While there were times when we believed that the forces of nature would lead to a different outcome, in the end, all 3 chicks have persevered to see the next step in their own journeys. We wish we could know what lies in their futures. Of course we hope that Rachel and Carson will return to the nest next year. We’ll wonder when we see ospreys soaring overhead in future years whether these might be Alpha, Bravo or Charlie. Perhaps one of them eventually will return to lay claim to this very same nest and we’ll watch them raise their own families. Though we probably won’t recognize them.
Thank you all for your comments, your support, your enduring patience when our view was almost entirely obscured, and your encouragement. I expected people would appreciate the live view of a much-loved species. I never imagined how special it would be to see a group of strangers come together and become such a close community.
With deepfelt gratitude for you all, thank you!
Glenn
Beautifully said, Glenn! I’ve printed it out to keep as a reminder of the amazing experience we all were privileged to take part in this summer of 2022. With so many bad things going on across the globe, this was a haven of escape for us to immerse ourselves in. We were indeed a group of strangers from all different walks of life who came together to bond over the weeks as a community of devoted and passionate osprey lovers. We didn’t always see eye to eye with each other, but nobody got ugly about differences of opinion, and we all rejoiced as one when the last osplet FINALLY flew the nest to start a new life of its own. It’s been a great ride, and I want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible! Hope to see you all next year — good Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise, as my grandpa would have said. 🙂
Amazing & Inspiring!!! Thank you & all the folks at this beautiful wildlife refuge. Truly a special place. Such a wonderful experience to.be apart of the Osprey world & all who joined the conversation. If Carson,Rachel Alfa, Bravo & All of our favorite “Charlie’ only knew how much they changed our daily lives. Bringing us all together to share the life of an Osprey. Truly blessed to experience.
It will be a long Winter waiting for their return…
I have enjoyed watching this osprey family and learned a lot about osprey. I’m hoping they all have a safe trip south and maybe we’ll see some of them back next year. Thanks Glenn for everything you have done on this project. I’ll be looking forward to next year, maybe with sound.
YES, sound would be a wonderful addition! Glenn, if you could get a rough idea of what that would cost, I’ll bet a lot of people in our osprey community would be willing to donate to the cause. If enough of us would chip we might be able to cover the cost competely — including what it will cost to reposition the nest cam out of poop range (and add a windshield wiper?). Do you want to have a quick fundraiser for sound while everybody is still here? I’d be happy to kick it off with a $100 donation. 🙂
Thank you Glenn for the wonderful experience of Charlie and his family. As in life, the family had it’s ups and downs but happily our viewing ended on a happy note. Hopefully the R&C family is bulking up and training for their long trip south. SAFE FLYING FOR ALL. 💕
Happy for Charlie…. Hoping he is now thriving on his own, getting ready for the long flight.
I’ll still check in from time to time… it was such a pleasure to be part of this journey with the Ospreys of Waquoit. Thank you Glenn for your terrific work on this live cam. 🙌🏼 🦅👍🏼 I thoroughly enjoyed the experience from the get go!
Good morning all, looks like the daily “Charlie watch” may be ending. We probably won’t know whether Charlie is a he or a she. Nevertheless, as far as I am concerned this osprey will always be “Charlie” to me. I am happy Charlie completed a huge step yesterday and hope for the best future outcome. I will surely miss watching the nest every day. Strong empty nest syndrome feelings.
Charlie is an example of the wonder of nature.. Often it not humans perception being the first, the tallest or the strongest that is the a sign of dominance it is the one who has achieved all the requirements to cross the finish line first.
Remember the story of the rabbit and hare👍
Aprox 9pm 8/18…..WOW seems so strange to see the nest empty….esp at night. Charlie flew off around 9 am this morning. I never thought he would not return…..I miss him…..but I am cheering for him that all is going well.💕
8/18/22, 8:34 pm. Charlie is sleeping elsewhere.
This is a really long time for Charlie to be gone, too much of a change 🙃
So relieved to see that #3 is confidant to leave the nest. What a wonderful day!
it would be fun to see how he spent his time today. Excited for him. 🙂
What? Charlie has been gone all day??? As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Glad for his independence but now we will all be pineing for him!
i hope he stays out all night. !!!
It’s good that Charlie and the others are out flying around, but sad to tune in and see the nest empty.
Empty nest 3pm 8/18/22
3:37pm Yes, I left about 12 noon and nest was empty then. Where is King Charlie? After reading yesterday’s comments about him not eating I am very worried about him.
i’m not worried about charlie any longer. he is probably out and about maybe finding new friends and hanging out in a tree under some shade eating the catch of the day. maybe having a family reunion before everyone goes their separate ways in a few weeks to a warmer climate. i am looking forward to seeing charlie next year (?) or the year after back on the cape.
joanne
🙂
I agree, Joanne. It has been one extraordinary journey for those watching. We wish our Mashpee osprey friends…Rachel, Carson, Alpha, Bravo, and of course, Charlie, safe travels.
You can stop worrying, Anita. Charlie’s fine. He’s learning from his parents that ospreys don’t eat in a nest after they fledge. They eat on perches in trees or man-made towers or poles. That’s why you haven’t seen much of Alpha and Bravo, and it’s why we hopefully won’t see any more of Charlie back in the nest for his meals!
I have seen the osprey’s living in the nest at Craigville Beach eating their meals on the roof of the bathhouse rather than in the nest.. joanne
Hope Charlie caught a fish and is sitting in a tree somewhere eating breakfast.
He’s been gone about an hour.
Let’s hope Charlie is out fishing. Question: when an osprey catches its first fish, will it generally bring it back to the nest to eat?
I’ve seen them eat on moored boats. The others don’t seem to be eating at the nest any more, so could be in trees or pretty much anywhere.
Thanks, Glenn.
It will be a surprise if he does. The reason we haven’t seen much of Alpha and Bravo in the nest in past weeks is because they’re eating the fish they catch while perched on a tree limb, telephone pole, cell phone tower, etc, which is how all ospreys that can fly and fish eat their catch. Charlie should do the same when he learns to fish for himself. But, then again, Charlie marches to the beat of a different drummer, so who knows what we’ll see him do?
9:48 am empty nest
Starting at around 7:48 am major doings-another osprey lands on nest and both of them ended over the edge. One of them could be seen on the ground on walkway, then you can see a number of other ospreys flying around. Charlie returns to nest. But no food
I saw that, one of the ospreys was on the driveway for a few seconds
And yes there seemed to be 3 or 4 birds flying around
Joanne
8/18/2022, Charlie flew from nest at 6:29 a.m. and returned to the nest one minute later.
He left again at 7:20 am
Yes this is pathetic, but maybe it’s a learning curve. We all had em😵💫
Maybe Charlie was with Carson & ate away from the nest today??? One would hope 🙏
Did Charlie eat today?
i don’t think so, and aside from a few swoops for a few minutes or so, i don’t believe he’s left the nest. he keeps crying out and looking around. i almost want to put a kiddie pool with fish in it under his nest to get him going.
poor charlie. he’s been waiting all day for a food delivery. he’s beginning to remind me of the adult child that won’t get a job or move out of their parents’ basement. LOL
Has anyone noticed if Charlie had a fish delivery today?
Sorry to say…….Nothing today