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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.
As the season winds down, please consider becoming a member of the Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge and making a donation to our vibrant organization (click the “Support Us” link at the top of this page). If you’re already a FMNWR member, thank you for your support! As a nonprofit volunteer organization, we support activities in education, research and stewardship projects, including pollinator gardens, osprey nests, habitat restoration and other projects within the Mashpee Refuge. Members receive our quarterly newsletters and are welcome to attend our monthly meetings and join our volunteer opportunities. Thank you in advance!
I have already donated 👍
I do appreciate the newsletters about upcoming events. About the volunteering – well – that could be down the road a bit.
Thanks Merc!
Look at 12:58 to see one of the adults chase another osprey out of the nest. One of the chicks had left a half eaten fish behind, so I guess the neighboring osprey was going to take it off their hands.
I have heard that raccoons will raid osprey (and other birds) nests and this was cool to see. Can you imagine what would have happened if all three had been there! Glenn, was that an adult raccoon? This raccoon looked a little small, but maybe it was just the angle of the camera.
It did look small, so may have been a juvenile. An adult might know better than to mess with an osprey!
During my years volunteering at the Cape Wildlife Center I quickly discovered how intelligent raccoons are, sometimes too smart for their own good! I’m sure it was hoping for some tasty eggs. I’m thrilled that the osprey was so protective of the nest. Amazing video. Just had an osprey flying over the house and two bald eagles in flight fighting over a fish. Maybe the osprey was hoping the fish would be dropped????
WOW That was one brazen raccoon but not very smart!!!
Are the older chicks fishing yet?
I am wishing our ospreys a peaceful night tonight!!
That was a pretty nervy raccoon! But what amazed me is we can see because of the camera, but it’s pitch dark on the nest. Very interesting to watch how they defended the nest👍
Thank you, Glenn for putting this on the highlights. It was so interesting to see how the defending osprey made itself as big as possible as a warning and then defended the nest. I can imagine that if Rachel was protecting her eggs or young chicks, I doubt that the raccoon would not have left unscathed. Nature is so amazing to watch.
With claws like these, I think you might be right about that raccoon not escaping unscathed
Thank you, Glenn, for posting that. It was a scary but amazing thing to see. You do such a wonderful job for us to enjoy.
Look at 22:17 to see a raccoon get into the nest. He may have hurt one youngster…it was hard to see. Mom defended the nest.
Wow – that was something to watch! I posted it to the highlights page. I think it was the chick (Juliet?) who chased the animal away and guarded over the nest for a while. I didn’t see any sign of it being injured.
that was amazing to see! Thank goodness it didn’t happen a few weeks earlier!
you need to put sheet metal on the bottom of the pole…Maybe 5 or so feet off the ground..So four legged animals can’t climb up the pole..It’ll protect the nest when there are Eggs in the Nest also in the spring time..
Tony, there is already a section of the pole with a sheet metal collar for that purpose. But some of the adjacent trees have gotten quite tall and overgrown, and I suspect raccoons are able to jump across. I’ll ask if these trees can be be trimmed back before next season.
that’s way the four legged Animals are getting up to the nest Thank You for the Info
Good catch Mavis. I think the youngster got away ok. Looks like all ospreys stayed out of the nest the rest of the night.
That was scary to see the raccoon behind the one. I was sure if it got a hand on the poor bird or if it actually flew. I praying it’s okay. It was something to see the mom attacking the raccoon!
Carson showed up with dinner which Juliet has been longing for all afternoon. But India arrived and the hierarchy is taking hold with a skirmish; the youngest is hungry and wants to eat!
Did anyone just see the aggression from – I’ll guess – the older chick with the fish – towards the other chick – whoa! This was just at 7:49pm
Glenn, using the red “time bar”, I was able to determine that Juliet left the next at 15:23 today. The time bar’s a nice feature.
Here’s what it looked like before returning
I’m back but there’s nobody to congratulate me.
All 3 are in the air!
Rachel brings back what I think is the biggest fish I’ve ever seen on the nest. It’s nearly as big as she is. Two chicks are already eating fish of their own. A feast!
Nice black sea bass! I want some fish tacos now….
I saw that this morning too. Pretty impressive. It was a feast for all! Ditto on what Tania said – I want some fish tacos 🤣
Wow! All 3 chicks on the nest this morning 6:50 AM with their own fish eating happily. What a sight to see! nature is awesome!!!
About 8:52am Hotel returned. India shared without complaining. Juliet is very upset, and very hungry. Me too with the who’s who 🤔😄
Nice video sequence 7/22, 18:33 – 18:38
One fledgling in the nest, Rachel brings a fish. 2nd fledgling has a bad landing rushing to get back. Fledgling 1 gets the fish while #2 complains. Then Carson arrives with a second fish. #1 tries to grab that too and winds up with both. #2 finally spots the 1st fish and grabs it at 18:38.
Can anyone identify who’s eating solo?
I’ve no idea who is who with the kids. They’ve been fed so well that if it wasn’t for their feathers 🪶 I wouldn’t even be able to tell them from Rachel and Carson 🤷♀️😀
I will say Hotel. About 8:42 am Tues morning Jul 23 R or C flew in with a fish, left it for the 2 chicks, India & Juliet, in the nest, then flew off. India held it down, gave Juliet the eagle eye if she got close, yet acted like okay, have a fish, how do eat it. Squawking for mom to feed them. Hotel has learned that already.
Juliet is panting a lot. Must be hot up there. I have noticed she seems to pant more than the other chicks.
Haha maybe I missed something, one chick is being fed. Oh well, I cannot watch as closely as I have in the past. Loose track of who’s who. Name tags would be cool. 😄
Can someone go up and stick these on?
Exactly!!!!
19:55 Sun 07/21/24
3 chicks and 1 fish. One is just being quiet, minding their own business. 2nd enjoying their meal. 3rd one very hungary and trying to steal bites. Love watching the cam!
*
8:25. Two chicks back home. Juliet tested and passed.
and we have liftoff!!
8:10 am. EMPTY NEST
Rachel alone in the nest. 8AM
21:33 Fish Coma
crazy on goings with Rachel and a chick fighting for one fish and Carson bringing fish number two. Starting around 6:50 AM on 7/19.
I went back and saw the chick had the fish from the wrong end! From what I have learned, they eat the fish head first. The chick was trying to eat the tail and the poor fish head was flapping up and down :-O. Then mom gets her talons on it and starts with the head. Here are a couple pics.
A tug of war for the fish between mom and chick! Mom won 🙂
Thought for sure #3 was going to go about 5:23-5:24 am this morning. There were just 2 in the nest. #3 flew back and forth across the nest a few times. The other chick then took off and flew a lap around the nest and returned, as if to demonstrate how its done. #3 thought about it, but did not go…I think he will go today
Glenn…a couple of questions. Isn’t it too early for the young to migrate? I thought Dad sticks around with the young for teaching purposes and everyone will migrate by September. I’m not sure but does Mom usually leave first?
Right, the migration won’t begin until sometime in August. Rachel will leave first, but Carson will stay around until the fledglings become self-sufficient. They are still totally dependent on the parents for food, and it will likely be another few weeks before they even start learning to hunt on their own. Even though they are not in the nest all the time, they remain in the area and will either return for a meal or might be fed at another nearby location. One by one, they’ll all migrate South by mid September.
I’m looking at the nest, 9:30pm. There are only 2 ospreys in the nest. Rachel & the last chick to leave?
It’s too early for any of them to have left. They’ll roost in nearby trees, posts, docks, buildings or any suitable structure, even moored boats. There’s a second, possibly abandoned nest, on the roof and chimney of the WBNERR visitor center where they may be spending time away from the nest.
Thank you. I have learned so much through this live webcam and your shared knowledge.
Nice shot of mom and the kids all lined up 16:22pm
love it 😍!
Very cool pic 😎 nature at her finest
Rachel feeding 2 chicks
7/15 around18:26 2 chicks out and flying around. Only one chick in the nest
Again at 18:38, very short flights
Much better take off, fly by, and landing today at 15:41. No nestmate incoming crashes. lol
5:53:15 ish Mom and Dad each come to nest with breakfish!