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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.
well, wherever he spent the night, he returned at 8:28am , aug 9. he seems calmer.
Is Oscar able to hunt for his own food?
Oscar wasn’t on the nest all night and haven’t seen him yet this morning
someone should go out there with binoculars and see if they can spot him flying around or roosting in a tree.
Sadly – it looked line a 1/2 eaten fish and there was not much there and a few minutes later Oscar was SQUAWKING again i’m sure he can’t wait to be able to get his own fish! 😉
OSCAR had been squawking for 2 hours and finally Carson (I think) stopped by with a small fish) and Oscar was going wild. I thought it was another fledging but then when the Osprey left, Oscar was busy with his head down pulling fish with his beak 😉
I hope Rachel or Carson bring him his dinner soon. He’s been squawking for some time now! ;-(
can i just join the discussion? I have been viewing Oscar since his birth and the loss of his two siblings
but he’s becoming an adult so quickly and is adorable
Correction, there is audio!
Didn’t see any fish delivery today and there is no audio
Ok, never mind. It just flew.
Is it just me and my screwy eyes or is the wing of the bird not sitting the right way?
I hate it when the fish are still alive and moving.
7:38am small whole fresh fish delivered! You can always tell when someone is coming to the nest, she gets really loud!
such a tiny fish. Just a snack. Hope more fish show up today.
Starting about 10:52am and for about 5 minutes straight (still ongoing), Oscar has been squawking as though there is a nearby interloper, but I have not seen sight of anything. Just an observation, but a little bothersome.
I want to thank everyone who has been reporting fish deliveries here in the comments. This information is being recorded on a spreadsheet that is shared with WildCare and WBNERR, and is important to continue to track the status of the nest and the health and wellbeing of Oscar. So keep up the good work, as citizen scientists!
As important as that is, it is also comforting for those who worry about Oscar.
Happy to do it!!
Tuned in just in time to catch a fish delivery at 10:01.
10:01am Fish delivered!
A snack was delivered around 11:52
Article about Oscar in today’s Cape Cod Times!
https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/environment/2026/08/05/falmouth-osprey-cam-waquoit-bay-oscar-rachel-carson/91118096007/
Thanx glen for posting this
dianne
Thank you Glen for the posting the link and thanks to Heather McCarron for writing such a nice article!
Sadly I can’t read the article, all grayed out.
Thank you for sharing. Good to know how many people care about these amazing birds
Nice article thanks for posting it!
Thanks so much for posting this article. For a while I was avoiding checking in on the nest, fearing the worst for Oscar after Rachel and Carson seemed to abandon him. It was interesting to learn that other osprey pairs seem to also be having trouble this season. It was great to see Oscar defending his nest and that Wild Care feels he is doing OK on his own. I’ll go back to being a regular visitor to the nest cam.
Annie, I felt the same way. I am unable to access the article but after reading your comment, I am watching the nest again 😀
I’ve noticed the Mashpee Roche Bros parking lot nest only has one chick as well as the Falmouth Walmart parking lot nest has one chick as well. Last year we would see osprey fly over the yard on a daily basis with fish. Haven’t seen that at all this year. Sad year for the osprey but glad some have made it
Oscar looks a bit lonely😢 after reading about the ospreys at Chesapeake Bay I am very thankful this bird has survived
Breakfast 6:20
Carson fish delivery 8/3/26 @ 11:53:36
11:53 another fish delivery
So when and how is Oscar going to learn to fish?
When? Over the next month or so, Oscar will be trying out some attempts to catch a fish, but it’s unlikely it will be successful for a while. Meanwhile, Carson will continue to provide.
How? The ability to hunt isn’t taught by the adults, rather it’s an innate ability that juveniles discover when they are developmentally ready.
It will be very exciting to see Oscar bring its first fish back to the nest!
A very small pce of fish delivered about 9:37…. ‘Appetizer’ :/
9:37 Dad delivered a fish
8:37am small piece of fish delivered.
Nothing to eat this morning? Calling and calling 😞
Is Rachael still around?
I haven’t seen Rachel for about a week, but she’s probably still in the area. Female adults are usually the first to leave, but they typically won’t begin their migration until later in August or early September. She’s probably on a nearby tree or other place to perch out of the camera’s view.
When will he take off and not return until next year?
Usually not until at least mid to late September. Oscar won’t leave until it learns to hunt on its own and can be fully independent. For now Carson is still bringing meals back to the nest.
Fish delivery at 6:39am
Thank you for posting!
Fish delivery at 13:45
looks like it was Carson
6:47:35 Breakfish served by Carson
7:00 am breakfast snack!
Oscar flew from the nest around 9:39 and has not been back since, it’s now 2:21.
Fish delivery for Oscar at 6:40 this morning
Did anyone see Oscar eat today? (Monday)
For almost an hour today (from 1-2pm) Oscar was sitting/laying down close to her deceased siblings. I feel so bad not completely understanding what is actually happening.
This is highly unusual behavior of the parents, in July. I wonder if they had a problem with the bands on their chicks? Or it affected their instincts in some way?
there are other nests close by and there have been times when more than 2 adults and even another juvenile have shown up at the nest. I don’t think there is a way to tell if it is the parents behaving strangely or other osprey who don’t belong at this particular nest. I wish they were all banded so we could tell who is who.
Referring to the behavior of Rachel and Carson towards their chicks.
How do we know it is Rachel and Carson and not some other adult osprey?