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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.
He is feeding her. Very sweet. 6:15 am
Feeding at 6am and I only saw 3 chicks.
I feel very hopeful that the 4 chicks will make it as Carson has been bringing lots of fish-and big ones at that.
6:50pm audio back
Brr – so cold and windy today.
No sound – call Comcast
Haha
5:50 pm 6/03 no sound
5pm still no audio
It appears the chicks are getting fed more equally than last year in order of there size!
WOW – I have never seen Rachel hunker down like this before.
Mama’s back. Wicked wind
Siblings are all alone at 2:50 pm
did anyone else lose sound?
All chicks eating nicely together
chicks alone for a few. rachel hurried back when that intruder came near. really appreciate the audio. hope the chicks won’t need therapy from the stress rachel and carson are going thru with this invader.😩🤪🙏
It’s drizzling rain right now . That’s why Rachel was being fed, because she has to cover the chicks from the rain, until their feathers come in.
(also the wind could potentially blow the chicks away. )
Weather reports say we are in for a cold, wet, windy week ahead.
I live a few miles from the nest.
makes sense. It’s very windy out today. amazing how they work together
In high winds I notice how much it appears that the platform sways quite a bit!
Is it the camera or the platform?
Thank you.
Watch weekly for hours with great enjoyment!
Maybe a little of both, but mainly it is mostly the pole that sways in the wind, since it is over 40 feet tall.
There’s an awful lot of movement during the wind. After the season is over, I’d like to see the structure examined for integrity; my stomach would feel better. Or am I overly cautious?
Carson was feeding Rachel this morning while she was keeping the chicks warm!
This is too cute. Carson is feeding Rachel. I guess it is the current “wind/weather while protecting 4 chicks” situation that is preventing Rachel from feeding herself.
8:15 Carson is feeding Rachel. Looks like maybe she doesn’t want to get off of the babies in this wind, so gusty today!
Carson feeding Rachel at 8:12. Quite sweet.
Carson feeding Rachel around 8:10 am
The wind caught Rachel by the tail feathers and she lost some of her balance this morning. As for the camera angle, I may be in the minority here, but I actually prefer to see more of the nest than the skyline.
It has happened (fledging four chicks from one nest) but according to the experts the odds are 100 to 1.
what are the odds of raising 3 chicks?
I do not know the numbers on a worldwide basis but whatever they are the odds would be much better at this nest as we saw last year. Aside from the chicks beating on each other the number one predator would be the Great Horned Owl. I think there was a GHO on this nest a couple of times over last winter but no attempts on the occupied nest that I know of. I leave the sound on here all night to observe anything unusual if it wakes me.
I’m going to stay cautiously optimistic, and hope that all four babies will make it. Rachel and Carson did awesome with the three last year (even if poor little Charlie got bullied sometimes), so I’m gonna keep my hopes high and my fingers crossed.
she is feeding the little one even if he is in back of the pack and they are catching some good-sized fish
I, too, will be optimistic in hopes that all four will make it. I understand as one person stated – they are wild – but I am still hopeful these beautiful osprey flourish.
16:23:19 I think Rachel is finished- oh, no, looks like she’s still maybe feeding all four babies? That has to go in the highlights, so cute!
So frustrated because I have no clue how to get and post a picture. Had perfect view of all chicks being fed earlier. Searched how to do a screenshot, fine but then everything from there was just garble to me. So not techy and don’t understand when they say to do something and it just simply doesn’t seem to exist. My rant for the day ugh!!!
Ellen, what device are you using? Phone, tablet, computer, etc.? Also, Apple, windows or other?
Try this link which may help to explain it: https://www.google.com/search?q=simple+instructions+for+print+screen+and+conversion+to+graphics+file&source=hp&ei=4D96ZJK3HdmB0PEPitWZqAY&iflsig=AOEireoAAAAAZHpN8MebvgvGvCLqk1lNKmKD9DBH7WTA&ved=0ahUKEwiSp7yJpqX_AhXZADQIHYpqBmUQ4dUDCAs&uact=5&oq=simple+instructions+for+print+screen+a
Rather than manually type the lengthy link, “highlight” it from “https” to “…screen+a”, then right-click, then select copy to copy it into your invisible clipboard, then paste it into your browser’s addresss bar by pressing Ctrl-V simultaneously. Send it, and you should arrive at a site with a brief explanation. Just do it once, and you’ll probably find yourself doing it often.
Basically, you’re copying the screen to the invisible clipboard, then pasting it into a file that is visible and more usable to you. I hope that helps.
Better yet, just click on the highlighted text.
HAHA where is the “invisible clipboard”
If you can get an IPad or iPhone it is SO EASY.
Microsoft is so cumbersome.( I had one once)
For a Microsoft Windows PC
In the Live Osprey image
Right click on the osprey screen/image you want
Drop down menu will open, left click on Take Snapshot
Save image window will open
Rename the snapshot file name to new one or keep it as snapshot (renaming prevents it from being overwritten when taking multiple snapshots
Click Save to save image, by default the file is saved in This PC, Downloads folder/directory so you can find it later
To post in our comments, there is an attach an image icon on the B, I and U line to the far right
Find your image in the PC, Downloads folder and Open it for Uploading
Hope this helps, it takes a little practice and timing, providing these busy birds cooperate for the perfect snapshot!
Well I tried this twice: once got a black screen and the other a photo of Coast Guard Beach taken during the winter in a storm. Go figure lol
Ok folks I am certifiably computer illiterate!! Think I need to go to the COA or library for help on this. LOL
For the record, the four chicks hatched on 5/26, 5/27, 5/30 and 6/1. Right?
I agree
Last one appeared 5/31.
If you go back and re-read the comments, the 4th chick definitely hatched on 6/1. Recordings confirm it.
Great. Thanks for checking, Glenn.:)
The newborn was not able to stand up to get food although I did see him get one bite.
First time I’ve seen this… Carson brings back a live fish and it almost jumps out of the nest! Maybe that’s why he usually brings them back headless. Posted to the highlights.
Nice video of that live fish jumping.
Feeding started around 8:55:20. Little Foxtrot got himself to the head of the line and was getting a lot of food. For being so little, he pushed himself right up front. Unfortunately, the littlest one sort of got trampled in the rush and is now just laying at the back of the pack, not even trying for a bite of food.
8:50 The largest fish I’ve ever seen brought to this nest
Time for fish
8:52 am nice looking fish.
Such a privilege to witness this so close up. Thank you for this, the camera is magic!
You all are awesome for posting the pics! I love them. Thank you 🙂
Just witnessed ALL receiving fish
Carson brings fish
Breakfast please!
5:20am
Glenn…. It appears that the camera has moved slightly upward with the wind. Before we could see the side of the nest and see the 2×4’s of the frame of the nest.
It wasn’t the wind. I zoomed in slightly, which some viewers suggested and seemed to prefer. The camera doesn’t have a tilt function, so I can’t adjust it upwards.
Good choice, now that the babies are here. Thank you, Glenn!
Ok that explains that