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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.
I have not been able to get pictures from the web cam. Is the web cam down?
Never mind
it was my iPad screen
I see that the birds have knocked the camera off center. Can someone straighten it?
It almost appears as if she has mated with different males in the past hour. Is that possible?
All the sources I checked suggest this would not occur. There are some reports of one male mating with two females in a close geographic area, but not the other way around. Even this is unusual since it would be very taxing for one male to provide for two families. But I’ll take a look at the recordings to see if you might be right.
Would anyone know why the Oak Bluffs water district osprey camera is down?
I could walk less than 1 mile from home and observe 3 – 4 active nests but this live feed tops them all !!! Many thanks for this opportunity !
How do I take a screen shot and share it? (not a very techy person)
Depends on your device. Are you viewing from a computer, tablet or phone? Windows or Mac, Apple or Android?
If you’re viewing with a web browser, right click on video and select Take
snapshot… and save it on your device.
Since I can’t watch all day, pictures are great to see.
Came across the information and link on capecod.com. This is wonderful; the sound is amazing. Thanks.
Lots of unusual noise around the audio equipment at 10:30. Seems to be no sound now.
If anyone in the local area is interested, representatives of The Osprey Project will be speaking at the Waquoit Bay Reserve on Monday April 17th at 3:30pm. Registration is required at https://waquoitbayreserve.org/event-registration/?ee=1332
Ah, looks like Rachel just flew in with some dinner!
Mating at 1:45 pm!
Also mated around 9ish this morning. Guess that’s a good sign but don’t relationship b/w number of times mated as related to number of eggs??
I noticed at 10:20 or so this am… one of the Osprey was perched on the camera(?) tried to get a screenshot but was unable. The camera wobbled a bit when the Osprey flew off. Hoping this won’t be a problem for the camera unit. (fingers crossed)
Great observation! There wasn’t much to see other than a piece of a wing. Here’s a screenshot I got from the recording.
3 osprey on nest at 9:23 am.
4/7/2003, 8″23 a.m. I have observed one osprey that remains on the back edge of the nest as late as midnight. Looks like he/she was sleeping in a standing position, in spite of rain. Compared to Season One, it seems to me they are not preparing the “nest” where the eggs will be laid. Quite different from Season One. Could this pair not be Carson and Rachel but a different pair? And could the other couple who seem to be desperate to claim the nest be Rachel and Carson?
Was able to watch mating, defending and nest building all in one day. Totally absorbing. Thank you.
Enjoyed this evenings watch. Supper& further nest arranging👍🏼
Still there at 10:13 pm
I think it’s Carson, or another male.
Do the lights bother them at night?
From our FAQs:
There is no light shining on the nest at night. The nest cam uses infrared (IR) technology for “night vision.” The IR spectrum is invisible to both humans and birds.
The light that makes it so we can see them? That is infrared night vision! It is not visible to humans or birds.
While that is in the FAQ, it’s also somewhat…dense. If that was an issue for you (or anyone reading this), I strongly recommend holding “crtl” and pressing “F”. If you then type “light”, it will highlight wherever it shows up on the page. It’s a really useful tool! Hope that helps.
Any thoughts? Is it me or do the birds appear to not be in a hurry to rebuild the nest? Maybe they are confused because the under boards are now in the opposite direction and all 4 sides are raised?
I was thinking the same thing. They are bringing in supplies and rearranging a bit, but not as much as I expected.
I have also been thinking exactly the same thing. Expecting more nest building in preparation for eggs!
Is that a light above the nest?
From our FAQs:
There is no light shining on the nest at night. The nest cam uses infrared (IR) technology for “night vision.” The IR spectrum is invisible to both humans and birds.
Totally thrilled to observe mating, defending and nest building – all today!!!!
What a privilege! I feel a little like a “peeping Tom” but the fact that they don’t know(or seem to care) that we are watching makes it more of a community gathering than anything else. Thank you!
I love this, watching all the way in TX !!!! Spent every summer on the Cape from a baby till last year. When I moved away. Love hearing the sounds reminds me of home 💗
This is when the internet is really useful!! 😉
there are definitely 2 UFO’s (unidentified flying osprey) circling the nest, and at least one of them has been trying to land for the past couple of days. rachel is not amused, nor is carson and they seem to be spending most of their time scanning the skies and screeching when the interlopers are near. if this couple is indeed the other pair that was nesting nearby, does anyone know if their nest survived and that is why this is happening? i’m just concerned that this will affect their ability to breed successfully
I LOVE this!!! Thank you!
This afternoon there has been a third osprey repeatedly “buzzing” the nest and trying to land. Clearly not welcome. Carson and other bird sparring in the sky around the nest. Rachel vocalizing a lot.
I implore ALL of you to please contribute and become a Friend for this most worthwhile endeavor. Thank so you much, Brian and all!
My life-companion delighted in watching the 2 doves in our backyard, years ago.
Now, on this early morning, I sit and look at the little screen; and, innocently, peacefully I find myself softly delighting, when the companion flights back to the nest; in majesty and purpose.
You have left our nest, a few months ago; but, now I smile to you, remembering the fierce assurance of your purpose and the majesty of your entrances… and also the tender, fragile, loving last flight.
Which bird is Carson and which is Rachel? Is there a good way to tell them apart?
If you can get a frontal view, female ospreys have darker, blotchy coloring in the chest area, commonly referred to as a “necklace.” That’s Rachel.
Great, thank you for the information! My students have been having a blast checking in on them. Thank you for providing such an enriching experience!
also-rachel is the very vocal one.
In raptors, the female tends to be larger (and rounder) than the male (slimmer/narrower) because she has to have room to hold all the eggs inside until she lays them. It helps if you can see them once side-by-side, but after a while your eyes will start to recognize general body shape and relative size. It’s an acquired skill!
6:20pm Mon 4/3/23 .. mating again. Maybe for each egg?
Awesome action shot. Thank you.
Thanks for posting these stunning photos!
4/3 17:28 OSPREYS JUST LANDED TOGETHER! And on top of each other, breifly!
Now Rachel(?) is doing a LOT of vocalizing!
Glenn, so the osprey mated, the nest blew away and was rebuilt.
When or if can we expect eggs to be laid and what is with this 3rd osprey that keeps coming to the nest?
Last year the first egg was laid on April 15th, so luckily we’ve got a little time. The third osprey may be one from the second nest in the area, possibly a family member. We don’t know for sure, but they seem to coexist nicely.
Great pictures! Thank you
Great photos. Thanks for posting!
Are Ya kidding me girl……welcome back…..you posted the Best pics last year…….Keep it going!!!!!
I’m glad you shared it. It’s an awesome pic of the two of them, especially capturing one in flight. 👍🏼
Also, What is the explanation of the three birds there at once?
There is a second nest nearby on the roof of the Waquoit Bay Reserve visitor center building. The birds seem to get along, so we think they may be related somehow.