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Welcome to “Season Four” of our osprey cam! Carson arrived on March 20th, 2025. 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 2025 (“Season Four”)
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.
Osprey relocation Harwich
https://patch.com/massachusetts/barnstable-hyannis/2-sets-cape-cod-osprey-chicks-get-new-home-together
Sandy, I did briefly hear about that and wonder how many total chicks are in the nest now. I would love followup on this story. It has such a nice beginning!
Yes Merc, it will be very interesting to see how things work out there.
Its nice to imagine all goes well.
I think they are 4, one of the pictures accompanying the story showed four chicks in the nest and said they were getting along but really? I wonder if there’s a camera on that nest?
I’m sorry that sounded a little negative😂🥴 it really is a great story!
It’s back on now
🙂
Is anyone getting an “offline” message and unable to see the live feed?
Yes. No camera.
Maybe a power surge during storm here.?
Thank you
Was looking on Amazon for one of these for Rachel… what do you think? 😉
LOL! Get it! Make sure it’s Prime w/overnight (or better yet – same day) delivery!
LOL! Get it! I’m hoping it’s Prime same day delivery 🙂
Can a drone drop it in the nest? LOL
Perfect😂
9:52 pm Friday 6/16
Rachel is taking a break from covering the chicks. Perhaps she’s tired of or sore from stretching out her wing.
They should all be more comfortable next 6 days when temps will be in the 60s.
Chicks can thermoregulate by third week.
thermoregulate??
body temperature regulate
https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/rapid-growth-phase-young-osprey-chicks
Nice link Sandy. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Merc.
On a different subject, Osprey DNA, this is also quite interesting, I thought.
https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/2020-dna-results
Thank you Sandy, I found another more focused study on osprey thermoregulation and tried to send you the link but it got refused here.
Thanks! Can you post it here?
An interesting topic, for sure.:)
I just tried to post it here but it says waiting approval so I’m sure it will be refused again. Try typing in Thermoregulation and heat exchange in ospreys. It’s put out by Science Direct, Journal of Thermal Biology.
Thanks, Surferboy! Yes, I’ve seen this one. Good one! Is this it?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306456521000243
It is interesting how Rachel stands perched over the two chicks casting her shadow over them. I noticed that the other day as well.
All osprey mothers do that until they are just too big.
I tuned in at about 7:09 today 6/16. All looked normal, an adult and two chicks on the nest. Turns out the adult was not the female mother but an intruder as the female mother swooped in to chase the intruder off. Anyone else see more of that (females departure, intruders arrival)?
Could it have been offspring from last year? does that occur?
They say yearlings do not come north but stay on their wintering grounds until the second spring. Even though they make it a hideous amount of miles south at 4 months old, they do not have full adult plumage until about 18 months old. Also I think if it was offspring from previous years it would have been tolerated by the female.
I’m back. See the new videos posted to the highlights! Let me know if I missed anything you wanted to see.
Glen, thank you for posting that video of one of the chicks getting knocked by the fish. It seemed a bit humorous at first, but was a bit concerning after the chick lay still as though it were knocked unconscious.
Breakfast @ 6am
No rain expected tonight
Chicks are soooo full, their crops look like they are ready to burst
Yummy!
Carson just brought a fish for dinner! 5:17. Was stuck on his talons briefly, but Rachel got it off!
Looks like Rachel is enjoying her day
Fish delivery 1:30 pm
Eatin’ time 👍🏼. Can’t see if they’re both getting a fare deal here, no pecking!🤞🏼
She did a great job protecting those babies. Those were a few tough thunderstorms!
Still a crazy amount of lightning too
Janet – we need the umbrella 🙂
👍😆
☺️
Janet! Thank you. Rachel was appreciative 😂
That is so cute. Wish it really worked 🙂
Thanks Janet! 😉👍
Poor Rachel and family. Dark clouds are coming. More rain😕
with them being left so often this year, it is a good thing they look like sticks and other nesting material
Back home again , checking in .
Rachel has managed to hang tough – doing her best shielding the chicks from inclement weather- looks like she’s in for another spell of rain soon 🫤
Mom’s back
Poopshot time…..waiting for Mom or Dad to come back
I’ve been wondering if Carson is also tending to another nest. A day or two ago I saw him fly off with half of a good size fish before Rachel and the chicks had finished feeding. He didn’t return. I also think Rachel has had to leave the nest herself to get fish. She has come back with her feathers looking wet, and last time I saw this she had nothing to feed them. Can males generate multiple “families” in a season?
My word they are close to the edge!! and now mom’s off having a break
Hi – are all 4 chicks still there?
When do you expect the chicks to fledge?
Generally, 2 months from birth, which was 5/26 and 5/27…so around the end of July, I think.
based on last year, however, they started to fly mid July , but first one was born a few days earlier than this years.
From The National Wildlife Federation.
Feeding time.
10:00p to 10:30p a fish was flown in and quickly dropped off by an osprey that might not have been Carson, if that is possible. Rachel ate for a few minutes like she was starving then only fed one chick. The other chick neither chirped nor acted interested.
Sweet!
Snack before bedtime at 22:05 (10:05pm) 6/13
6/13/2023: About 10:05 p.m. Rachel is eating/feeding the chicks!
where is warrior Carson? no supper tonight?
Is it me or does it seem like Carson has been spending much less time at the nest in the last week or so?
afternoon snack at 3:30 PM
It’s amazing how fast those little guys grow!
Holy crap – Delta or Echo just walked way too close to the edge of the nest! But Mom came back in time to put them in their place!
I hope Mom told them to stay away from the edge of the nest while she was gone!
A lesson from Mom in nest making. Very cute.