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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.
6:20pm Mon 4/3/23 .. mating again. Maybe for each egg?
Awesome action shot. Thank you.
Thanks for posting these stunning photos!
4/3 17:28 OSPREYS JUST LANDED TOGETHER! And on top of each other, breifly!
Now Rachel(?) is doing a LOT of vocalizing!
Glenn, so the osprey mated, the nest blew away and was rebuilt.
When or if can we expect eggs to be laid and what is with this 3rd osprey that keeps coming to the nest?
Last year the first egg was laid on April 15th, so luckily we’ve got a little time. The third osprey may be one from the second nest in the area, possibly a family member. We don’t know for sure, but they seem to coexist nicely.
Great pictures! Thank you
Great photos. Thanks for posting!
Are Ya kidding me girl……welcome back…..you posted the Best pics last year…….Keep it going!!!!!
I’m glad you shared it. It’s an awesome pic of the two of them, especially capturing one in flight. 👍🏼
Also, What is the explanation of the three birds there at once?
There is a second nest nearby on the roof of the Waquoit Bay Reserve visitor center building. The birds seem to get along, so we think they may be related somehow.
Wonderful of all of you who do this work and provide the webcam. The short video showing the repair of the platform leaves me with two questions: a) Do they really never bolt it the support or is that just edited out? b) Why is the middle cross piece placed intentionally a few inches higher than the other cross pieces?
Hi Steve. The platform is securely screwed in to the supports. That part was just edited out. The middle board was moved higher since the pole extends a little bit above the cross beams. With that adjustment, it was a perfect fit!
The new nest box is beautiful! And just now there are 2 birds there – I am assuming Rachel and Carson! And good to see the beginnings of the new nest, as well! Thank you so much for such a quick repair.
What an awesome thing to see the response to rebuild their home – I have to say that I was extremely concerned with the installation persons safety. He was not harnessed in working aloft. OSHA would not like to see this video. Very very dangerous.
My very same thoughts Frank, but so grateful for him and all the volunteers for the amazing job they did getting it up there but it was pretty nerve-racking watching him not using a harness.
Totally amazing to see the commitment to these wonderful birds. I have been waiting all winter for the m to return.
Finally moving some sticks around. Maybe they knew it was not sturdy enough to hold a finished nest!
I was thinking the same! Love the shiny new platform
April 2, 2023 at 7:02 pm. Carson brings fish to Rachel.
Your team is amazing!! Thank you! Must read…Return of the Osprey
Thank you for the continuation of this great project! A donation has just been sent. You do a wonderful job with this!
If you can, please support The Osprey Project of Falmouth. Besides saving our season, they do amazing work!
I enjoyed watching last season and will make a contribution. Nice to hear live sound. Looks like the camera has been repositioned to hopefully minimize obstructed viewing
writing the check now
actually just did PayPal
Osprey back! 4/2 at about just around 2 pm!!! Then a second one flew in but didn’t land. Who I cannot tell. Also appears a little work on organizing the nest has happened. Yippeee!
Video of the repair effort was just added to the highlights page.
I’m so thrilled and thankful for the folks who made the repairs in record time. Thank you so much.
Installation person. Must not be afraid of heights & an Osprey follower. Thank you for braving the wind too
Thank you to everyone involved in the response to and the repair of Rachel and Carson’s platform for their new nest I am looking forward to their return to begin building it again.
Thank you to everyone who organized and helped repair the Osprey nest.
Rachel and Carlson will be very happy.
Just send in a donation and hope you get manny more.
EHR
thanx for providing the new digs. to me, it looks like 3 ospreys circling and when one lands and another comes in, they both end up taking off. Is this typical “couple checking out new home” or is it 2 males trying to lay claim to the nest? also, a crow stopped by and was feasting on a fish before an osprey got it off.
Bravo and thank you to the Osprey version of Habitat for Humanity, who saved the season!❤️
Traveling back to the Cape from Fla. been watching since they first arrived . Great job OP repair crew, looks like the ospreys can begin again ! 🙌🏼
Hallelujah!
First landing of the pair
Pure JOY!
So grateful to Glenn & those who took quick action
April 2, 2023 AT 9:49 .m. An osprey flew in to the nest but left almost immediately.
First brief landing at 9:48 am.
Watching from Florida. Great job fellow Cape Codders.
Nice job…and fast! Thank you for fixing it.
I hear Osprey!!! Sounds of happiness!!!
Great job with the new platform and sticks. ❤️
Wow, great work! They even supplied the sticks!
Rachel was waiting this morning…Carson flew in for a brief moment, I wasn’t fast enough to get the pic but they were mating YAY!
That was a great job installing the new platform. Hats off to all involved.
Our heroes have arrived!