If video is not appearing above, click here to refresh this page. Also try clearing your browser cache, closing and restarting your browser or restarting your device.
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.
I just saw a pinecone in nest, is that nesting material or something to eat?
If you watch Rachel closely you will see she takes the pinecones & shreds with her beak into tiny pieces then tucks in spaces all around herself. I’m thinking shredded cones makes nest more comfortable & allows rainwater to drain. Just a guess
I have a house in seacoast shores, I was just out with my 2 little rat terriers. I could hear a osprey. I was hoping it might be Carlson. Well when I looked up 5 ospreys were circling over my house.
I’m sure Rachel knows a frost is coming tonight.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/mashpee/02649/weather-forecast/2089206
(For those out of state, Mashpee is in Barnstable county.)
The nest is actually in Falmouth, at the Waquoit Bay Reserve. Here’s a “Did you know…?” tip for anyone interested… Did you know the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge was named, not after the Town of Mashpee, but for the Mashpee Wampanoag Ttibe. The refuge is in both Mashpee and Falmouth. (But the weather is pretty much the same in the 2 towns!)
At about 5:30 this morning, Carson returned to relieve a frost-covered Rachel to take his turn on the eggs. Rachel then flew off to warm up her wings.
Should we be concerned about the frost damaging the eggs?
I wouldn’t think so. It’s not unusual for overnight lows to drop below freezing in April. And of course, that’s why they sit on the eggs – it’s nice and warm underneath!
Good to know, thank you!
Oh Wow 😮 Is that frost on Rachel 😬
Sure does look like it.
But on this picture it does look that way! Was it that cold last night up there?
Yes, we had a terrible freeze last night. That is frost! I live a few miles away. It was 30 degrees. Ithink less in some areas. Destroyed flowers on Magnolias.
low temps predicted again tonight. 🙁
I think it just looks like the morning light glinting off her feathers 🤔. If it was frost it would also be on the higher parts of the nest around her it would seem.
Lorene, It sure did look like frost 😬😱 We had low temps of 34 as seen in one of the pics I posted at 5:21am. Then Barry pretty much confirmed it was a frost with another pic at a later time and different perspective. I had noticed the same thing on April 21st. Here is a pic from that day – that I did not post.
It sure does!
Watching this gives me faith that nature perseveres, at least for now.
Just beautiful. Thanks !
Around May 19 we may see the first hatchling , based on last years schedule…..
Around 38 days incubation? Does that sound right?
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2018/05/when-are-the-osprey-eggs-going-to-hatch/
We could see it happen anytime after May15 perhaps….
yes we need a tutorial from Rachel and Carson for Brewster couple….
👍
I’m watching the osprey live feed camera at Cape Cod Museum of Natural History and it’s bugging me that she can’t see that feather sticking out. I also think this is the nest that someone commented a while ago about this couple needing some nest building lessons!
Here is another shot. It’s been like that for about the past 15 minutes!
Could it be the type of platform the best is on?
Loooks more like a 🦫 den 🥴. I agree Merc that feather would make me 😵💫 hope she got that worked out!
Rachel trying to keep her rump on those eggs and still do some decorating 😂😂
rachel with her 4 eggs
Great shot, Dianne!
Hello. Watching this with my kindergarten and grade one students in New Hampshire.
Wonderful, what a great learning experience! Feel free to ask any questions the kids may have.
You can just make out the 4 eggs!
and momma and papa thinking this better be it 🙅♀️😹💰
I looked at 4:11 today 4/19 and there were 4 eggs!
Oh wow! Fantastic. Hopefully Rachel can handle feeding this 4 egg clutch this year. I understand probabilities are very slim, but still can be hopeful. 🤞
Carson just mated while Rachel incubates (a recurring action I’m noticing)! Wow – going for way too many eggs. I would have thought 4 is enough!
Again…
pretty sure there’s a 4th. Carson just flew in with a nice fish, Rachel got up to ‘grab n’ go, zoom in for a count…
Thought I saw a 4th egg just as I checked in, but couldn’t get the picture fast enough before Rachel then was back to nesting. I took a picture with time stamp maybe you could check just before this was taken
Good eye Janet! Yes, it looks like there are 4 eggs. Not sure exactly when it was laid, but I posted a video of a good view or them.
It was laid just after 3:30 this afternoon. Thanks Janet and Miranda, for posting pix with timestamps!
👍🏼
Hello from New Hampshire.
wow i love birds
ospreys are majestic creatures and are very large.
how many cars do you think pass by Rachel?
Their nest keeps building up and the view of Rachel is diminishing! She looks so protected and cozy sitting there but before you know it we won’t be able to see her anymore 😱
LOL – they keep rearranging their nest so it does not look as cozy as yesterday! That pine branch was placed in front of camera and made an illusion.
Was Archel fighting off another osprey? Or was that them switching?
I think what you saw was mating activity. There’s been a lot of that lately, even while Rachel is sitting on the eggs! However they do switch places occasionally but I haven’t seen that around the time you posted your comment.
7:57 PM Rachel gets up and seems to almost show off her eggs to us
With all three eggs coming so close together in time this year, and warmer weather than last year, I wonder if it is likely they will all survive? If so, its going to be one crowed nest in a few months!
Got it and posted to the highlights (thanks for the time stamp)! Great view, right from behind (thanks Rachel!).
I think we just saw the third egg arrive!
#3 time of hatch…time stamped! Congrats 🍾 🥂
12:02 is that a third egg we see?!?
I do believe that we just watched Rachel lay her 3rd egg.
More of this 😌
Welcome back A2Z! I look forward to some of your great action shots!
don’t think I’ve seen this before but Rachel was sitting with her feathers up for about 5 min 🤷♀️
Hi there – the camera feed sure looks blown-out, white balance wise. Is it automatically adjusting, or is there a manual base setting? Otherwise, awesome with the sound back! My 3rd year to follow.
Welcome back! I’m not sure what you mean – video looks normal to me.WB mode is set to auto, same as it’s always been. Maybe just the harsh afternoon sun?
Similar routine this morning at around the same time (9:04) – Rachel left the nest, presumably to find something to eat. Carson took a brief look at the eggs but then flew after her. A minute later they both returned to the nest and Carson attempted to mate briefly. Again Rachel flew off, and again Carson flew after her. After a few moments they were back again and this time Rachel seemed to have given up the hope of getting a snack. She settled back down on the eggs, and Carson stood nearby preening.
Has anyone seen him taking his took at brooding?
4:12 PM Carson and Rachel looking at their TWO eggs, then a little mating?
So far this year I’m 0 for 2 in finding a recording of the eggs being laid. Egg #2 was laid sometime yesterday morning, but I wasn’t able to narrow it down to pinpoint it. For most of the morning, there was only one, then a little later there were two. Maybe Rachel just wants a little privacy! Hopefully I’ll be able to capture the next one. Please let me know if you spot it happening! If she’s on schedule, it should be Monday or Tuesday.
I think we have a few days before all the eggs are laid. Last year they had 4 with 3 chicks hatched but only two surviving.
Four chicks hatched, but two sadly died in cold and wet weather.
I just saw 2 eggs! Woo hoo! Something happened since the last post 4 hours ago!
I think I saw the second too
Two beautiful eggs!
Back where we started. 😉
Rachel back to incubate, Carson back with other things on his mind…
men!!🤣
Lonely egg…