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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.
No volume here either
Did anyone lose volume? I don’t believe there has been much calling or squawking but I don’t even hear any surrounding wind/noise.
11:55 Someone’s been resting on the nest in this terrible weather. I wonder who it could be?
I am not sure if the female on the nest, who has been calling and spending most time there, is Rachel. I just looked at some of last year’s videos and Rachel has feathers that are all dark. This female’s feathers have a light/white outline. I am getting concerned. As mentioned earlier, this must be one of the children from 2 years ago. I did a query and last years Echo and Foxtrot probably won’t return until next year.
is it possible that it’s not Rachel or Carson after all? maybe our couple got a late start or the weather has thrown them off course? 🤞🙏😢
🤞
Though I must admit that the nest is really taking shape! There have been quite some nice additions to it ☺️🙂
This was last night 12:36 am
General note to everyone… when posting screen shots, please try to include the full image so the date and time are visible, rather than cropping. That way, I can easily go back and capture corresponding video. Thanks!
Glenn-at around 14:18 thurs mating took place. I think there is a good view of the males’ bib. I wasn’t quick enough to get screenshots but i thought he had a slight necklace 🤷♀️
Right, good catch. Here’s a screenshot of it. Since it does not appear to be Carson, it make me wonder if he’s still around at all. It also may explain the “2 females” noted by others working together on nest building. Males can have necklaces too.
thanx for posting. so that might explain the confusion over “Carson’s” return? or have mature ospreys ever had a change in their necklace?
In season one I posted a picture here of two Montana osprey on a nest. Each had snow white breasts. One was male and the other a female.
Glenn- are you able to retrieve footage from 3/27 from around 6:30 am? think that was the first time posting of 2 osprey on nest and they seemed comfortable with each other. perhaps there’s a frame that catches their bibs? I don’t want to think that Carson is m.i.a.
Want to see a prolific bib/necklace……watch here
https://www.earthcam.com/usa/massachusetts/oxford/?cam=oxford_osprey
That is an impressive and beautiful necklace indeed!
I’ve watched here of and on (mostly on) all day today.1st observation is every time I look there are two osprey on the chimney nest. Have not seen them fly off to fish and eat. Next most of you are not going to like……Staring at 1715 there were two osprey on the nest…..both of them female, one stayed on the nest calling and calling the other kept flying in and out with nest materials this ended about 1738 with the caller remaining on the nest….I watched a ton of previous years photos/highlights and neither one of them looks like the presiding female mother of the past two years……they just do not have the bib/necklace……the presiding female mother of the past two years did not have the most prolific bib/necklace but these two do not seem to match. Yes I saw Barry’s post and obviously a male visited the nest.
Surferboy – now that you mention it, I observed same. Both osprey in the nest – as you stated – are females; and – as you said one calling and calling and the other has been flying in and out. At one point one of them had – what I believe – a very serious look as though something was down on the ground.
The first time I saw behavior like that was earlier today……one had flown in with a very small fish……the existing female on the nest cowered and acted submissive…….
so I agree with you that there were2 females on the nest wed early evening. I think 🤔 the vocal one might have been Rachel, tho- given her behavior of “speech” . Carson and Rachel def were the couple in the morning. I went thru my pics and am posting this pic of Rachel from the 2022 season – before the poopy camera issue
I agree, I looked back through my pics and the ospreys on the nest this am are imo R & C. The markings on back of C head always reminded me of a silhouette of a flying dove and that’s what I think see this am.
The two osprey that spent most of the early morning on the nest are both female. The one that is not here now (9:25 AM) is responsible for all this new nesting material. The one that is here now spent the night on the nest and experienced brief mating at 6:45 and 8:33. The male was there for less than a minute each time.
The mystery deepens 🥴😊. Maybe one of the babies from two years ago 🤷♀️? Well keep us posted 👍
Agreed….the nest building female (who just stopped in and then left) must be one of the young from the past as she is totally tolerated on the nest
2022 good head on shot of Rachel
From this am looks like Carson to me
Surferboy, a question for you: you mentioned the “chimney nest” – are you observing from the ground? Or are you talking about the nest on the pole that the camera is on? As you may be aware, there is a second nest located on the chimney of a nearby building (not visible from the camera). This is the one we refer to as the chimney nest. If you’re watching from the ground, I’d be very curious whether you’ve seen any birds travel from one nest to the other.
Glen, I was there off and on for a lot of the day yesterday. I neglected to bring optics so I cannot comment much about the two I saw on the chimney nest. There was plenty of flying osprey but I never saw any go from one nest to another.
A little hanky-panky?
carson!! did you at least bring rachel dinner first??🤣
Welcome home to Rachel and Carson !! 😀 So nice to see you. Ohhh more rain is a coming but not so much the wind.
Looks like already doing housekeeping and adding to the nest! What’s up with the oyster shell anyone see that arrive?
Been there since last year……..
YAY!
finally!,,, welcome home Rachel and Carson. seems there is another osprey off camera.
Yay!👏😊
03/27 6:55am And now there’s 2 🤗
I drove on the property yesterday and noticed there is a nest on top of chimney of the large building on the right side of the circle!
It’s been there for years. Usually partially falls down and/or partially into the chimney, but it produces osprey.
Crow taking sticks while Osprey watches
This visitor was calling out loudly this morning
Any thoughts about this visitor?
Now there’s 2
Crow took pieces of the nest to build his nest in the tree.
Crow seems to like the nest…good luck LOL!
Looks like him and his mate are setting up house 😹🙀
The osprey in the photos so far look quit a bit smaller to me than last year. Could it be that they are just thinner after the long migration, or more likely a squatter that just found the nest?
Osprey in the nest at 6:45 this morning moving a couple of sticks around.
Nesting behavior
I visited this morning & captured Osprey on nest…
Whoever the visitor is (it may be Carson, or as others have suggested, Alpha,Bravo or Charlie), he’s probably waiting for his mate to return.The nesting pair does not travel together; instead it’s a solo migration, so keep an eye out for others who may show up in the coming days. We may even see some territorial disputes over the nest. Thanks to everyone for watching so closely – these sightings can be pretty brief.
Glenn – I was under the assumption that they (Rachel and Carson) would arrive together?? I comment/ask cause last year’s video showed them arriving within minutes of each other on March 26th.
Merc, you’re right that last year’s video showed them both returning together, or at least it that’s how it looked. Odds are that was just the first time they were caught on camera and maybe Carson was already back for a few days hanging out in nearby trees. Good catch!
😄 I was going to say Rachel as the black marking looks like it fans out ?? Oh well, time will tell.
Glenn is there a way to identify Rachel and Carson from the kids ?
Here’s what we need…
Visitor at 9:13 before the crows came back.
Wicked windy day
great shot
I am thinking Alpha, Bravo or Charlie
Karen – I’m thinking the same, too. Earlier I thought the first sighting might have been Carson, but the more I looked at previous seasons, the more I thought it might probably be Alpha, Bravo or Charlie from 2 years ago! Plus, I had read that the two from last year (I think Foxtrot and Echo???) won’t return until 2025. Glenn – feel free to correct me!
I think you are correct about 2025. I read that the first year as an adult they stay where they migrated to. I do not remember why, maybe to fall in love 😊
Osprey flew over and sitting in the tree.
Who could it be?
One just briefly landed in the nest about 12:35 PM
9:17am March 20. Just saw one make an appearance! Heard the calls then looked up to an osprey in the nest. Stayed for 10 seconds(?) then gone.
There is an osprey spending a lot of time on the Patchogue nest.
Osprey at 8:14 AM markings on the back of his head look like one of our Ospreys maybe Carson?
Looks like the same osprey was here at 8:14
Carson???? With all that necklace plumage…..I don’t think so…..
My understanding is that the males typically return first. Also I think Rachel had darker neck markings. But we won’t really know for sure until we see them together.
Any chance it may be Alfa, Bravo or Charlie? I plan to go through 2022 pics to take a look at the markings & compare.
Has anyone ever done
this?
Anything is possible. Unfortunately in 2022 the camera was partially obscured as a result of the infamous “poop-shots” so it’s hard to get a good view. Also keep in mind that juveniles don’t develop their full adult markings until 18 months. Here’s an article on osprey identification that may be helpful: https://avianreport.com/osprey-appearance-identification/ But please try to make comparisons and report back what you find. I appreciate the effort!
I have to agree with you. Here’s Carson from last year and his bib is not the same. I posted pic under Dena with pic from 2023 highlight first arrival . Looks just like this years arrival
My best guess is a young female from a previous clutch
St.Patrick’s Day great way to celebrate.
Oxford Ma cam Osprey sitting on perch….
Yes, thanks Dena.
a perch the camera / we can see.
the birds used the old ones on the previous nest alot..
think a perch makes the nest more attractive to the birds.
Can we get a perch added to the nest I wonder?
lol, we have one – the camera!
Funny!
Thanks for posting video & the 2024 season highlights
You listed video as Carson…is that a definite?
Crow picks through nest
I saw 👀 that
Osprey returns!
Yes!, just saw a fly in at 8:02!! Wonder who?
Fantastic. Looks like it could be Carson! This is about a week earlier than last years arrival!
Hi Merc, Glenn’s got the 2024 season up & he posted video as Carson so must be…so cool!