Osprey Nest at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

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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.

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Linda
1 year ago
Reply to  Glenn Davis

Great picture….a beauty of a fish !!!

Merc
1 year ago
Reply to  Glenn Davis

nice action shot!

Erika
1 year ago

Still adorably awkward, though! Stretching and twitching while settling down for sleep last night – wings and legs going in all directions. Rachel was trying to cuddle up to them and kept getting bopped by a wing or a foot.

Sandi
1 year ago

Luv watching this family

joan tavares avant
1 year ago

why all the big colorful trucks this morning? even Rachel was watching them,…joan

Ann
1 year ago

They were doing roadwork. I saw a backhoe digging a trench on the left side of road. The vehicle in upper left looked like a flat bed trailer to transport the backhoe.

Beth
1 year ago

Is any one else having trouble viewing the nest? Did something happen to our light?

Sandy
1 year ago
Reply to  Beth

Beth, is it ok now?

Beth
1 year ago
Reply to  Sandy

Yes but I will check back this evening when it’s dark.

ellen
1 year ago

hhhmmm only one chick seems interested in eating (a ton!) Other seems disinterested but interested in what is going on outside of the nest 17:26ish on 6/21

Sandy
1 year ago
Reply to  ellen

One chick ate first while other waited till he was done, then came to be fed,
Assume Delta are first.

Last edited 1 year ago by Sandy
Sandy
1 year ago

Dinner time. 5:10 pm

Last edited 1 year ago by Sandy
Sandy
1 year ago

At the next feeding beat down, you will know which chick is Delta! Voila!

Last edited 1 year ago by Sandy
Janet a.
1 year ago

Good morning all 🌞
Two chicks are a breeze 👍🏼. I’ve been also viewing a nest located in Patchogue Long Island ,NY. There are 4. The largest , first hatchling is referred to as BirdZilla! Huge and aggressive. The smallest last hatchling is LiL’Bit . #2 and #3 are about the same size. Talk about “beatdowns’. It’s rough. But this little LiL’Bit is tough and does manage to push through at times. The nest is obviously crowded at times…especially when there are six present. Parents and chicks!
A few days ago, ‘Dad’ flew in with a gold fish ‘a stolen fish from a Koi pond… it was a second stolen fish as I had read. Lol. The nest is located on a main drag in Patchogue… I’m familiar with the town, having grown up on Long Island . There are a few plastic bags that had blown up into the nest or maybe it was brought in? They all manage to find their place at night.
They are definitely interesting birds to observe.
I googled Patchogue osprey cam…. There is another in Oyster Bay LI I check in on too. There is a nest with 3 chicks doing great👍🏼.
Guess I’m hooked on Ospreys 😉☺️
Enjoy your day

Annie
1 year ago
Reply to  Janet a.

Just checked out the Patchogue and they are going to be flying off soon. They were flapping their wings at the edge of the nest or hop/flying from one side to the other. A first I thought it was the adults I was seeig.

Last edited 1 year ago by Annie
Sandy
1 year ago

This year is so tranquil with only 2 chicks, as compared to all the angst of last year with 3.
nice and peaceful…..

surferboy
1 year ago
Reply to  Sandy

Guess you did not see the fierce competition during the feeding that started at 18:40. Unfortunately there was a beatdown at 18:46.

Last edited 1 year ago by surferboy
Sandy
1 year ago
Reply to  surferboy

Oh no!
Guess I missed that one!
All the feedings I’ve seen have been so good.

Karen E
1 year ago

2:35 pm
Rachel is back, empty taloned.
She seems to to be calling out for food.

The orange necked chick’s feathers seem to be changing more than those of the other chick’s. Is this the older of the two, Delta?

surferboy
1 year ago
Reply to  Karen E

When you get a different view you will see that they are both “orange necked”. The female was giving warning calls to something flying overhead (at one point I could see its shadow as it flew over). The female and one of the chicks just ate starting at 14:10.

Karen E
1 year ago
Reply to  surferboy

Thanks for the explanation .

Sandy
1 year ago
Reply to  Karen E

The older chick appears darker….where more feathers have popped through.
they both have orange back of neck, but younger one seems brighter orangey.

Last edited 1 year ago by Sandy
Karen E
1 year ago

The chicken that’s closer has a very orange nape of its neck. Is there a way to say which one that is?

Karen E
1 year ago

2:26 pm 6/20

The chick’s are alone and looking around. Could it be mealtime?

Colleen Armstrong
1 year ago

Oh my gosh, those babies are so close to the edge!

Sandy
1 year ago

Believe Echo has more pronounced orange on the back of his neck,
and Delta generally makes sure he is closer to Mom.

ellen
1 year ago

Holy Moly! looks like they doubled in size in a day! lol Still wish I could tell them apart!
Sorry if this gets posted twice

Sandy
1 year ago

No camera on that nest, hopefully updates will appear, and all will do well.

ellen
1 year ago

holy moly it looks like the doubled in size overnight!! Still wish I could tell them apart lol

Last edited 1 year ago by ellen
Fiona
1 year ago

10:26 mom almost fell down.

Merc
1 year ago

I cannot believe how much they are going to grow over the next 3 weeks. I looked at last years footage on July 15th when one “chick” hovers over the next and then again on the 20th when one flew out of the nest for the first time! It’s impressive how quickly they are growing!

Sandy
1 year ago

What huge crops the well fed kids have.

Mary Ann
1 year ago

You can always tell when the little ones are making a BM 🙂 funny kids

Fiona
1 year ago

Baby’s are getting sleepy 💤💤💤

Fiona
1 year ago

The Baby’s are so cute I’ll be so sad when they leave

Gail
1 year ago

Another delivery at 5:11 pm! Chowing down!

Janet A
1 year ago

🙌🏼 nice big fish…4 pm. Eat hearty guys 😋

Sandy
1 year ago

One seems to enjoy “Livin’ on the edge”. Lol.

Lorene
1 year ago

12:09-12:11 one of the babies was helping rearrange some sticks ! So cute! ☺️

Lois
1 year ago

Mom’s still shoring up the perimeters

Sandy
1 year ago

Chicks too close to the edge. Mom is rearranging branches.

George
1 year ago

Webcam quality so much better than last year and the live audio is fabulous!

Last edited 1 year ago by George
Gabby
1 year ago

Carson just flew in with supper at 8:45 and flew back off. Hungry little chicks feeding away now. They are growing fast!

Caryl
1 year ago

Is there any way to tell which chick is Delta and which is Echo? Any way to tell if they are female or male chicks?

Sandy
1 year ago

All of a sudden they look so big!

Karen E
1 year ago
Reply to  Sandy

I was just noticing that – they aren’t little ones anymore!

Sandy
1 year ago
Reply to  Sandy

Chicks

IMG_1339.jpeg
Patsy
1 year ago

Babies are by themselves. Hopefully parents are nearby!

Barry
1 year ago
Reply to  Patsy

And they sure like looking over the edge

James Govoni
1 year ago

Both chicks and Rachel are having a 5.45am healthy feeding !

Sally Palmer
1 year ago

Weather is nasty! Poor things.

Annie
1 year ago

One of the babies wasn’t getting fed like the other and started pecking at the fish to get his own food. (6/17 around 15:36 time)

Annie
1 year ago

Poor wet chicks

poor wet chicks.png
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