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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.
What compass direction does the camera face?
Thanks
I believe it faces north
Noticed the nearby nest on 28. Could be the problem osprey’s nest.
April 16, 2023, 2:09 pm. Carson delivers a fish to Rachel. She accepts the fish and promptly flies off with it.
Is it just me…or has the web cam disappeared . No viewing right now.?
Another Osprey is continuing to dive bomb the nest today
I saw this also. Rachel called out loudly since she definitely doesn’t want this other osprey to land on the nest.
Image a little wonky this morning. Rain?
we are enjoying the osprey. It is so cool to watch.
Making a good nest hole for eggs 👍🏼
Hopefully there’s no egg shortage here. 🙂
😉. Fingers crossed !
Maybe it’s a visit from the flying squirrel, one would come last year but you would mostly see their eyes and movements at night on the camera. They do eat bird eggs but think the Osprey are too formidable to mess with 🤷♀️. There were also sparrows that appeared to try and nest in the lower part of last years nest. Maybe Glenn can look back and see if it’s on camera.
To the right of the center of the nest there is a hole, it looks black on camera. Something keeps peeking out. Ideas? Has anyone else seen this?
I wasn’t really able to tell what it was. Definitely not a squirrel. Maybe a sparrow. Or it could have been just a leaf or piece of grass blowing back & forth in the wind. Post if you notice it again and maybe I’ll be able to get a better look.
Just now, Carson flew in, mounted on Rachel for about 4-ish seconds then flew off. Their mating process is so amazing and efficient! I have seem them mate multiple times since arriving. It will be interesting to see how many eggs Rachel ends up laying.
A couple of days ago I have seen mating going on.Also as the nest building is going on I have seen Rachel trying to settle down on her nest it incubate her eggs ! She knows her eggs are coming because she has been settling down her nest like there are eggs there.
Engineers!
One of the birds has been on the camera at night. Can’t see it, but can hear it moving around.
Where are the Osprey perching at night? The nest is empty every time I check during the evening but I can hear them.
Until there are eggs in the nest, there is no need for the birds to spend the night in the nest. Instead, they usually roost in a nearby tree, which is why you can hear them. Sometimes, you may see them perched on the cross beams supporting the platform, or they may be on or under the camera.
Thank you. I live in Duck, NC on the Outer Banks. There are Osprey platforms in the Sound between the Outer Banks and the mainland. No lights on the boardwalk that passes several nests so there is no way to see what they do at night.
The Friends of Mashpee NWR have dedicated the new nest platform, the “Bill McKay Memorial Osprey Nest Platform.” Bill was a great fan of the nest cam last season, but sadly, he passed away in January. Please read this article written in his honor.
That’s lovely and hoping he sees it and his spirit still soars with the ospreys!
Excellent dedication to Bill McKay. Missed but not forgotten.
They have a great view !!
Maybe an egg soon? She’s sitting in the next hole more today 😃
Mating? 5:37 p.m., 4/12
Didn’t capture the picture. Look how round the nest is becoming. Just beautiful to watch.
Carson with dinner and the other bird in the distance.
Yes, Carson brought a fish (Rachel behind him) and landed after chasing off the other Osprey (in the background) It was quite a skirmish.
This just happened. Two ospreys tried to land at the same time at the nest. Carson had a fish and I’m guessing another male osprey? Both Carson and Rachel scared him off. Them while Rachel was alone the other osprey approached again. She scared him off again. Then Carson flew in right behind him still holding the fish. You can see the other bird in the distance.
Miranda, I saw that too. Quite the exchange!
Not a comment – but question. Does someone know if that new nest (installed last week) is secured? I just noticed the nest rocking back and forth when the wind was blowing. Looks like Rachel noticed it too!
Yes, the platform was securely fastened with screws and lag bolts. On a windy day, the entire pole sways a bit.
Thank you Glenn!
Glenn, great pictures! Thank you. They appear to like their new perch.
How long after mating to egg laying and then how long to hatching?
2 to 3 days
How long after mating do Osprey females lay eggs? Female Ospreys begin to lay eggs 2 to 3 days after the period of most frequent mating. The female lays the first egg usually in the morning hours. Then she continues laying eggs 1 to two days apart until the clutch is complete.
Also, here’s a comparison of the nest from April 4th – 11th. What a difference a week makes!
#4
#3
How are we sure these are the same birds Rachel and Carson?
They all look the same, more or less?
Gorgeous photo, Glenn! Majestic.
Amazing photo Glenn thank you!!,
Excellent shot! Rachel is looking directly at camera too. Beautiful wing span. Next shot we need is a herring in their talons!
#2
I got some great action shots of Rachel this morning. She flew from teh nest to the top of the camera.
Working hard to hollow out center of nest. Great vantage point.
Nest is finally starting to take shape.
It really is! Great to see – next step to add a soft center for those eggs we are all waiting for.
So great to see the platform restored and the couple back and nest building!
Nice highlights too! That is a lot of sticks to be positioned comfortably.
Lots of busy nest building this morning. It is awesome watching them arrange all the twigs up close!
Over the past few days, they’ve been very busy adding to the nest. I just posted a video to the highlights of this activity from April 8th.
I believe it was Rachel that just brought a twig with pine needles on it back to the nest. This pair is building their nest into a fortress 🙂
Happy Easter all. Caught this pic @7:30am. Seen this behavior several times. Vewwy interesting!
Happy Easter Sunday to you ! Nice picture. Love the wings!
Thank you, Karen.
they are Mating
What a beautiful picture!! Happy Easter 🐣
Thank you, Linda.
Here it is at nearly 9 pm.
This is the first time I’ve checked the camera at night and only one osprey is there, upright and sleeping, outside the nest, perched on one of the little boards. I’d be lying down in the nest. 🙂 Where is the other osprey? They don’t sleep together? And what is the light source that allows us to see the nest at night?
it’s called night vision no light just the light we can’t see
Love their peace!
Is there a possibility that two males are mating with Rachel. I saw a flurry of making attempts earlier today by males that appeared to come from different directions in a close time line.
Work on the nest at around 6:30 – rearrangement, new stick brought in. Still doesn’t look ready for eggs, yet, to me – but they know what they are doing!
As there seem to be 2 Ellen’s on here now, I have altered my name ID!
Yes, I had the same problem!
The previous 2comments are not mine.
Hi, I saw the last 2 entries were made by someone using the name I had used last year and this. It wasn’t me, so I’ve changed my name 🙂