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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.
Two ospreys landed on nest around 16:32, March 26, 2023, but took off shortly after. Yay! Not sure who is back but will be fun again this Spring and Summer.
Wish there was a playback or historical feature on the video so we could visit video history on our own without having to bug Glenn. Audio is great, that’s how I heard/then saw the ospreys on the nest.
Yes – I saw them too. It was pretty exciting. One of them sat in the nest for about 30 minutes then flew off. They appeared to be younger so I was figuring it could be one of Rachel and Carson’s adult chicks.
Right before I saw them in the nest I walked out on our deck and saw two flying over shoestring bay and instantly recognized their distinctive bird sounds – yay!!
Looks like a osprey???
Happy Spring! Crow visits nest this morning. Still waiting for Ospreys to return…
Osprey arrived on Oxford nest around 2 PM today
I saw my first osprey of the 2023 season today, March 21, flying in East Falmouth about four miles due west of WBNERR.
Osprey and bald eagles fighting it out for a platform in Orleans. Hopefully we’ll see osprey here soon!
Sounded like peepers this morning.
Hello. I am keeping an eye on the sticks, if they move, mom and dad are back 😀 Yes, I am looking forward to this also !
Raptors
https://www.birdnote.org/explore/field-notes/2023/03/watch-birdnotes-18th-birthday-celebration-cascades-raptor-center
Bird chirping wildly. Can anyone identify it?
9:42 am on 2/25.
Large sparrow visiting next (2/25, 6:30am
About when might we expect to see the Ospreys return? Any idea?
Last year they were both first seen on the nest on March 21st. It’s likely that Carson arrived earlier, so we should start looking for him any time from early to mid-March.
Great! Thanks.
Hi, Any chance you’ll have a rewind feature on the video feed this Season?
Thanks, Really enjoy the Cam.
Hi Mike. I asked our streaming provider about that last year and I don’t think it was a feature they offer. But it would be a great to have and I’ll ask again. Glad you’re enjoying it!
Glenn, The YouTube video plays okay. Guess my glitch is gone.
For what it is worth, I would prefer seeing more of the nest activity and closer to like before. Seeing them fly in and out will be neat but maybe you could find a more equal picture. More surrounding view than before, but more nest than it is now. Seems like we might miss out on the birds interacting with each other. Have a couple of plush stuffed birds to put in the nest to get an idea of how the view will be? 😄
I am looking into using YouTube for highlights for this year. It saves on our server resources and allows larger video clips and faster loading videos. For now, I set up channels for “Season One” and “Season Two” videos. So far, the second season has only the owl video from earlier this week:
https://www.youtube.com/@MashpeeOspreyCam-SeasonTwo
Each video will be an entire 15-minute segment, but it’s easy to fast-forward or rewind as desired. Please let me know any thoughts or issues you may have with YouTube. I appreciate any feedback!
The video stops about every 3 to 5 seconds. Anyone else experiencing this? I checked my settings. Never had this happen with other YouTube videos.
Hi Glenn, sounds exciting however I do not have a YouTube account. Not into social media
Perhaps there are others who don’t either…
You shouldn’t need a YouTube account to view the videos or go to our channel. I think you just can’t “subscribe” or add comments if you’re not signed in, but that’s optional. The main stream will stay on original website and I’d prefer to keep the comments there anyway.
Dena, maybe this will help you .. a YouTube app came with the Google stuff on my phone. Free. Check your phone app library, might be there. Only use it for here. The link Glenn posted goes right to the nest feed. Can can go full screen so as not to see other stuff. I watch the nest live here so I probably won’t be youtubing it.
Owl on the Nest
Great catch – thanks for reporting! The owl was on the nest for about an hour (from 4:11-5:12am) enjoying what I think was a squirreI (but it’s hard to tell in the infra-red video). Just posted to the highlights page.
Check the time from 4:35 am to 4:45 am there was two owls on nest
Wow – I completely missed that. Looking at it again, the owl at the beginning of the clip I posted was the first owl and the owl at the end was the second owl. The first one flew off soon after the second arrived.
Had trouble trying to view the highlights videos. Anyone else seeing this?
Hi Sandy, about a week ago I was viewing highlights & did have issues with older videos, these wouldn’t play but then went to the most recent & these played.
Thank you Dena.
Morning snow on nest (and camera lens!). It’s now completely white, but should be pretty once the lens clears.
Hello Glenn, happy to see camera back in action. Just a few months to go and the return of Osprey begins!!!
It seems the camera needs to pointed a little bit more downward to cover the whole nest.
Hi Ann. Tilting the camera up was intentional to allow viewing more sky to see more activity in the air. This was actually another viewer’s suggestion, which I thought was a good idea. We cut off some of the structure in the foreground but the front platform rail and the edge of the nest is still visible. I agree that another inch or two downward might have been preferable, but I think it should be a better view overall this year. We’ll hopefully get some good close-ups of the birds at the front of the nest!
O.K. Thanks for the explanation.
Our new camera is installed, the sound is adjusted, and we’re ready for Season Two of osprey viewing at the Waquoit Bay Reserve, brought to you by the Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge and Comcast! It will be another couple of months (mid-March) before Rachel and Carson hopefully return, but meanwhile we’re ready for any other activity we may observe in the nest. Thank you to our off-season community of viewers for your patience and support while we resolved the temporary loss of the live stream!
👍😁
A few people have asked about why the webcam is offline. Please be patient as we resolve the issue. I don’t have an ETA at this time, but we are working to restore the page as soon as possible.
Furry visitor 11/25 @ 6:20am-ish…
I can’t believe my luck, I just tuned in to see an owl on the nest. It flew off after about 30 seconds, incredible. Wish I knew how to take a picture of it. 8:35 p.m. Thanksgiving Eve.
Wow! Wish I had seen that…just emailed Glenn so he can post. Hopefully soon, would love to see an owl.
Thanks Beth and Dena! What a treat! I posted the video on the highlights. Also, a second one of the owl hooting a few minutes later. Happy Thanksgiving to all – I’m thankful people are still watching!
Thanks for that great video and picture of the owl Glenn! What a treat indeed. Thank you Dena for your quick work, never expected to wake up to this😃
Thank you Glenn
Happy Thanksgiving!
Oops, I accidentally posted the same video twice – the hooting clip is fixed now.
Hi Glenn camera has been offline for days now.
We’re working through some technical issues which hopefully will be resolved soon. Sorry I don’t have a better update. Thanks for your patience!
hi Glenn, Thanks for the update
I followed the Oxford nest and same noise…happy to just watch. Best viewing is anywhere on the Cape. Ospreys are everywhere, they seem to be thriving. Thank goodness! So just get out there, several great locations to watch Ospreys in action. My favorite is Dimmick Waterfront Scenic Vista
It is Monday November 21 at 6.19 pm.
The microphone sounds like a constant jet engine running. Sometimes you can hear the wind override it, but it’s constant noise. I just noticed that when I’m giving you text the noise stops It’s just an annoying noise. At this and it’s not a problem i’ll just turn the speaker off here. I will share that nobody’s gonna use it the way it’s working.
and most certainly I can’t be fixed. When’s the birds are back in the nest you won’t be able to approach it that’s not legal to disturb them. I would’ve thought that they would’ve put a small radio in the nest that was running and then come down below to see how was working. There’s some kind interference. On a positive note thanks a lot for your efforts and have a happy Thanksgiving.
Please be patient while we work on adjusting the sound.
I just uploaded a short video clip of Charlie calling (with sound), taken from the ground by Dena. You can view it on the highlights page.
Thank you Glenn…going to be an incredible spring when the Ospreys return. Hopefully they are all safe & thriving in the south
When you turn on the speaker, does anyone else hear just noise – like standing behind a jet waiting to take off at the airport? Even if I turn it down lower, I still hear static noise.
Agreed Annie, I can hear car horns from out on Rt 28. Microphone is waaay to sensitive. I still say the camera should be adjusted up so they do not commit 1/3 of the view to the wood support.
The mic is sensitive and there is a lot of ambient noise – wind, street traffic, etc. I’ll find out if it can be adjusted from the ground (it’s an expensive proposition to bring the equipment back to go back up the pole). Same for the view, though it may be nice to see the structure closest to the camera when the birds perch there – maybe we won’t have as many “Where’s Carson?” moments. On the sound, there are two adjustments you can make: 1) when you hover over the video, there’s a volume control on the bottom left of the picture; 2) also adjust your speaker volume. By lowering BOTH settings, you can reduce the static but still hear birds and a little wind. Unfortunately we may not be able to fully test this until the ospreys return in the spring, but there are occasional other birds on the nest – if anyone notices this, please post a date and time and we may be able to fine-tune it. I’ll also post some videos of the work that was done on Monday in case anyone missed it.
Our hosting provider added noise filtering so it sounds much better now! We may need to fine-tune it more once the ospreys return in the spring, but glad we were able to find out that it can be adjusted.
Think you have the wrong type of microphone………right at this moment you should hear nothing but slight natural wind……..you will have the constant “din” you have now when the osprey return……..unfortunately the Greenbelt Gloucester osprey cam is down for the winter but that mic is a good example of how it should sound
Thanks. It does sound much quieter now. Can’t wait for next year when the osprey return to see how it sounds.
On saturday at about 8:20, I could hear crows and blue jays, but it is sort of annoying to listen thru the background noise
This season is going to be so much fun. Thanks for giving us a better view and sound for the upcoming adventures 😍
I can hear birds!!!! Probably seagulls.
another view
with camera adjustment & sound added should be an exciting Osprey return. Can’t wait!
Watching the camera adjustment……..they should adjust it up a little so we can see the osprey fly in and out……right now 1/3 of the view is the wood structure…….
new view of the nest on Monday morning is definitely further away
new view of the nest
I look forward to enjoying the upgrades on the cam.
I might note I was just checking in on the nest and there was a healthy gray squirrel foraging!
Due to heavy rain, the planned maintenance work was postponed and will be rescheduled sometime in the next few weeks. I’ll post when completed so we can hear the wind!
Can’t wait to be able to hear what is going on! I check in once in a while to see the changes in the nest and what other critters and birds visit.
This week, on October 13-14, we will be performing some maintenance on the webcam. The live view will be offline during this period. We will be adding audio to the site (!!) and also moving the camera position to be out of range of future “poop shots.” Thanks for your patience with us during some “Season One” mishaps, as we strive to make these improvements!
Thanks for the update Glenn. These improvements will make for a fantastic second season of viewing !
Audio AND out of pot shot range?! Oh, so perfect! I’m very excited to see the return of Rachel and Carson, as well as their kids! Especially Charlie… 🥰
At last! The impaired view from the camera brought on by the good aim of the ospreys is gone because of the rain. Can’t say that I miss it. Will have to wait ’til next year! I hope that you guys received my donation. You do a terrific job, Glenn.
It has been an exciting summer being able to view the Osprey season of reproduction.I have leaned a lot from viewing and everyone’s comments.
I was curious why they always tended their nest but know I understand why. It does not take long for the elements to break apart the nest.
Hopefully the camera will be repositioned prior to nexts Springs return of the Osprey!
Big thanks to those at the Waquit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Comcast for providing the Nest Cam which was educational and entertaining for the viewers 👍
I had the same thought why are they always working on the nest!
Now we see why . It deteriorates when not attended.
That has led me to another conclusion.
During there nesting season there are a lot of organics build up in the nest from eating and popping that could bring disease and insects if built up over years.
I am thinking it is mother natures way of house cleaning!