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Welcome to “Season Five” 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 2026 (“Season Five”)
View highlights from 2025 (“Season Four”)
View highlights from 2024 (“Season Three”)
View highlights from 2023 (“Season Two”)
View highlights from 2022 (“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.
Looks like they have made the nest nice and deep for protection from the wind. Maybe they are remembering last year and the cold and wet spring we had.
Making the nest lower in the center allows for a lower center of gravity when the nest is full in the fall to compensate for the additional weight.
These artificial nesting platforms that need inspection and attention if needed every year after the nesting season.
They are an excellent platform for the Osprey to nest on but unlike trees who grow and repair themselves naturally every year they are subjected to the elements.
Where do they go at night?
They roost in trees (or on top of the camera, etc ). The nest is just for the eggs and baby birds
Did the group secure the bottom of the nest to insure it doesn’t collapses again. Eg: wire mesh, allowing drainage but secure the bed?
Thanks for all your efforts to make this experience yearly, a great joy.
Great question, cause as I was just watching Carson do some nest building and adjusting, he was moving some of the moss/grass away from the core of the nest – hmmmm. Some kind of mesh reinforcement sure sounds like a great idea to insure a successful season.
I am looking forward to a successful season! Fingers crossed!
Can we tell which is male and which is female? How may years have this couple been coming to this nest?
Females are a bit larger than males, and most
have a dark speckled “necklace” on their chest.
Have they started “canoodling” yet?? I only seem to catch only one of them on the nest at a time.
Yes, a few times.
Owl was evicted
owl
21:51 March 3 Owl with dinner on nest
I see owl still on the nest at 10pm! Whoa – At 22:01 the owl flew off and within a couple seconds both Rachel and Carson flew in. Then shortly after that – I think Rachel – flew on the top of the camera and Carson stayed in nest but flew off. I think tonight will be an interesting night to go back and check the video!
The owl was back early this morning, on the nest for about an hour. Rachel and Carson arrived shortly after it left.
Interesting.
Hope it doesn’t hang around the nest during incubation
The owl probably knows he must leave. Glenn, do you know if it will find a mate? Rachel n Carson will kick him out 😄 claim their homestead. The nest appears to be in good shape. It is nice to be back for another year.
Great Horned Owls mate early in the year, January or February, so this owl does not seem to be nesting here, just using the nest as a perch to enjoy a meal or maybe prepare its prey for its own nest nearby. It has never posed a direct threat to the ospreys in past years and I hope that trend continues.
The Happy Couple
Osprey in the nest!
Not sure if anyone noticed but the Great Horned Owl was on the nest last night around 23:55 for several minutes. The night before that Rachel (I believe) was on the nest perch most of night. I sure hope this transition goes well!
Didn’t see any owl last night