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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.
Good evening! At night, is that a light shining on the nest or is there a night-vision camera for low light?
Hi Amber. It’s not a light. The camera uses infra-red (IR) technology for “night vision.”
Thank you!
I see 4 perfect eggs!
Oh That’s good. Thank you.
Ah..Has the first egg hatched and the chick didn’t make it. I hope my eyes are deceiving me. It’s on her left side right now. If I’m wrong, please remove my comment.
Hi EmJay. From what I can tell, all 4 eggs are still there and intact. Maybe you were seeing a clump of moss? It would be far too early for the first egg to have hatched – we don’t expect that for several more weeks.
Is the bird sitting on the eggs?
Yes, there are 4 eggs!
My 1st viewing. Thanks for allowing us to observe..
I just saw a fourth egg today!
She seems to be chirping a lot this morning. Calling her mate or sensing a threat???
The chirping is a recording.
I know that thanks. She was opening and closing her beak a lot yesterday morning.
Sometimes she may be calling for her mate. There is another nest very close to this one and she may have saw another Osprey fly by.
Sparrows are definitely building a nest under the osprey nest
Is there a way to search comments to see if it’s already been asked/answered? I am wondering if there is any overhang above the nest. I don’t know if there are photos from the ground to show how high the nest is, etc. I wonder how they handle a drenching thunderstorm… This is an amazing view – thanks!
There is not an overhang above the nest. Osprey have very oily feathers to help repel water and keep them from getting waterlogged. Their nest is on top of a sturdy utility pole.
Sorry but we don’t have a search function for the comments. Great idea, though – we’ll see if it can be added!
Fantastic…first time I ever saw their egg
6am Sunday and whoever is on the nest (Mom?) appears to be bloodied. Am hoping she is okay?
It looks like it was just a reddish glow from the morning sun. Shortly after, the male (Carson) returned, and he looked red also. Rachel and Carson both seem fine!
Thank you Glenn I was hoping it wasn’t what I was worried about! Keeping an eye on this burgeoning family makes one feel very protective!
I have enjoyed the osprey experience and have learned a lot about them
Thank you. To see another bird species for ccomparison: the Audubon Society
Of RI has a webcam
on top of the “Superman “ building in Providence.
The eggs have hatched – there are 4 and the falcons have started to fly.go to
asri.org to see these city dwellers and compare.
We do officially have four eggs! Noticed sometime this afternoon
Rachel and Carson are great names and a wonderful tribute to a woman ahead of her time.
I see a 4th egg too!!!
Just took a ride to view the nest. What a beautiful spot they are in. Ocean front property!
I thought I saw a 4th egg. It’s great to hear others are seeing the same thing. Yippee
The naming poll results are in, and we’re going to call the ospreys, “Rachel & Carson,” after famed environmentalist Rachel Carson. The runners-up included Ozzie & Harriet, Larry & Sue Bird, and other great suggestions like Ocean, Sunshine, Beach Rose, Glider, Gale & Gust, Hunter & Hazel, and many others! We may save some of these choices to name the chicks when the time comes. Thanks to everyone for your input! Rachel and Carson, keep up the good work – you’ve got quite a following!
wonderful! Thank you for doing this. They are beautiful tributes to all Rachel Carson dedicated her work to.
YAY! Another egg!!! Happy Earth Day!!!
Anyone else see 4 eggs now? She got up a minute or so ago but it was difficult to tell with her hovering so close
Thanks Morgan – great observation!
Is the Male favoring his left foot?²
A joy to see!
How exciting … three eggs!
We have been watching for that in our home! The kids will be a TINY disappointed they didn’t catch it 1st , lol, but they will be excited to hear about a third egg!
Shes holding her wings out away from her body. Maybe an egg tonight?
She was also doing alot of rearranging the large twigs of the nest.
Just saw dad fly in .Now he’s sitting on the eggs. Moms just hanging out.
Recently, every time I check on them, the female seems so calm, occasionally eyes closed.I wonder if the third egg will be the last one for this season. I’m still waiting to catch a glimpse of it!
Do Ospreys get banded with tracking devices?
Some ospreys do but the pair seen at the nest do not have tracking on them.
Yup. 3 🥚🥚🥚
How fascinating it is to watch this pair at any time of the day or night. When and how far do they migrate South, and how do they know which nest is theirs to be able to come back to that same spot? Must have built in navigation system!
We don’t know exactly where this pair spends the winter, but generally they migrate to either Central or South America, once they leave the nest in September or October. How they find their way back to the same nest is one of those great mysteries of nature!
Wed 4/20 4:58 am and it looks like there is a third egg!
Thought I could see her with a fresh egg before 10pm last night. Sometime after we went to karate class at 5pm?? Might be more if activities at 5:44am are an indicator. Lol
I was traveling yesterday and looks like I was late to the “there’s 3 eggs” party 😂! Seems like it was in the afternoon based on others comments. Maybe one more to come😊?
The 3 eggs were laid on the 15th, the 17th and the 19th, so if they keep up that pattern, we could see another tomorrow. Four is usually the maximum size of a clutch, but we’ll just have to wait & see!
Wonder how old the pair is and how many times they’ve done this before?
I’d like to add names if I may. Rachel definitely is great for the mamma bird, with all that she has done to keep these creatures safe. I believe that Papa’s name should be Glenn, for all he’s done here, answering all our questions and concerns. Thank you Mr. Davis, for all you’ve done and are doing.
Do I see 3 eggs now?
I have adopted this family of Ospreys as my extended family!! I was so worried last night I watched at 1:45am to be sure Mother Osprey was holding on to her nest as she was buffeted by the high winds and rain. Up again at 4:45 for an hour. She is one strong female. Then Father Osprey flew in and landed on her back to hold her steady. Then he flew off. Fascinating viewing!
Thank you!
Umm….don’t know how to break this to you…. but he wasn’t “holding her steady.” They are oblivious to their online audience and were just slipping in a little physical bird romance before the three kids arrive.
HaHa, Even during a Nor’easter!!
Check out this video of a third osprey on the nest:
https://www.friendsofmashpeenationalwildliferefuge.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/A-third-osprey-comes-to-the-nest-4-19-22.mp4
Could this be a sibling from a previous year – a big sister? Mama osprey doesn’t seem to mind the intrusion. Any ideas about this?
Great theory! I caught the end of the interaction live and worried about an “invading” osprey, but watching the entire video, there did seem to be a sort of familiarity. That said… the male osprey has kept a bit closer watch afterwards.
Fascinating come back to this often
The wind is so strong it nearly blew me over. I live a few miles from this nest.
Three eggs now!
3 eggs!!