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.
Great. A second egg bit other birds violating their space
Have enjoyed watching these magnificent birds and the care they provide for their eggs!
Phew, they made it through the stormy night!
How appropriate to honor Rachel for her efforts to combat the use of DDT. I support the names Rachel and Carson.
I wish we could give her some shelter from this coming rain storm and wind.
We love watching. Tuned in numerous hours since Friday since we spotted the link on FaceBook. Fingers crossed for tonight storm/winds to have NO effect on the osprey or eggs.
It’s time to name the ospreys! Please join in our naming poll, which you can access at this link:
Osprey Naming Poll
Write-in choices are welcome!
The Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge and Waquoit Bay Reserve will select the final names based on all input received, including paper ballots and editorial discretion. Thank you in advance for your input. The names will be announced at the end of this week!
Two eggs! How fun to watch her adjusting the twigs in the next.
In her book Silent Spring, published in 1962, Rachel Carson wrote about the harm that DDT and other pesticides caused in ospreys and other wildlife. A decade later, DDT was banned and osprey populations began to climb back from near-extinction. Because Carson can be a man’s name, I propose that the WBNERR ospreys be called Rachel and Carson.
I completely support Rachel and Carson! How clever… how appropriate… how Osprey and Cape centered! Thank you for the suggestion!!
Couldn’t think of better names…perfect!
Rachel & Carson are running neck-in-neck with Ozzie & Harriet as the favorite name choices! We’ve also received a lot of write-in candidates (Larry Bird and Sue Bird have quite a few votes). If you haven’t already, be sure to vote here this week:
Name the Ospreys! | Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge
This is great. Thank you – I’m going to watch this every day.
She’s eating a nice big fish.
I just saw the Daddy osprey suddenly fly in and land on Momma’s back!
I think he brought her food, because once he left, she started eating something.
Meanwhile, it looks like a chickadee made it’s nest inside this nest! I saw it go inside and it hasn’t come out yet
Yes, there is a second egg! It was laid last night just before 11:30pm. View the highlight videos to see it!
Osprey Nest Cam Highlights
Hopefully it’s just the glare from the sun for just a shot time. Usually it’s so clear to observe those beauties.
Something’s wrong with camera?
Just some raindrops or morning dew on the camera lens. No worries!
So it’s 11:30 pm Sat night and we see a second egg! Wow how great is that 😊!
There’s 2 eggs! Not sure when the second one came about. But, yay.
Getting read to lay an egg maybe.
First time I see the male on the egg. Is there still only one egg?
Why is she getting up off the egg so much today? Doesn’t the egg have to stay warm?
Can you estimate the number of nesting pairs of Osprey on the Cape this summer?
That’s a great question and I hope someone can find an accurate answer! I know the osprey population was nearly eliminated as a result of widespread use of DDT and other pesticides in the 1950s and 1960s. They have made an incredible comeback since the ban on these chemicals. I believe there are hundreds of pairs thriving today, but do not know the exact number.
Is there an easy way to distinguish between the male and female? Sorry if this question was already asked!
The female is larger and has a mottled brown “necklace.” She is also the one spending most of the time incubating the egg, but sometimes the male will take over while she is eating or occasionally leaves the nest.
We can learn patience from these two lovebirds!
Osprey names: Cape for the female, Cod for the male.
Last night I thought of the last name for Cran and Barry. Bogs. Cran and Barry Bogs. I really do need a life. When are we going to know their names?
We’re going to launch a poll next week to name the birds. Stay tuned!
Thank you Glenn and all those that help make this possible.
Last night i saw the male bring her a fish in his talons.
But he only let her take couple of nibbles then flew off with it!
Maybe the male?
there is a bird on the nest other than her and she’s looking at somthing
She seems ever vigilant, when does she sleep?
Does the male stay at or near the nest at night now that there’s an egg?
Late this afternoon,, I saw her rise, turn the egg over, and then sit back down on it.
Is it always the female on the egg or could it be either one?
Both parents will share the incubation, but it is mostly the female sitting on the eggs. Thanks for the great question!
Awesomw
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW I LOVE THEM .
what was that thing the male did landing on her and shaking around?? then he flew off and she got up and checked the egg, it was so cool!!!!!
Mating?
Sam Maflown & Diane Chambirds. Cheers!
She stood up and I just saw the egg!
Exciting!
GREAT JOB GLENN!
How long till the egg hatches?
Between 5 and 6 weeks. There may still be additional eggs laid. Typically, ospreys lay 2-4 eggs a few days apart, and they will hatch in the order they are laid.
Thank you for the information. Quite something to be able to watch them so close up.
Wish them luck!
Trixie & Scout