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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.
Oh WOW – another interloper just now! Rachel was with the chicks without Carson, but he arrived shortly after with a fish!
Excellent question, which I had to research a bit. I read that an adult osprey consumes about 400g per day, or between 1-8 fish depending on their size. The chicks probably don’t require very much at this stage, but as they grow that will change. Providing for a family of 6 is sure to keep Carson busy!
In honor of her birthday (thanks Donna for that tip!), we just reprinted an article from our Summer 2022 newsletter about Rachel Carson.
https://www.friendsofmashpeenationalwildliferefuge.org/2024/05/27/so-who-was-rachel-carson-anyway/
Truly incredible person. So grateful for all that she did & went through for the Osprey & other wildlife. We are all very fortunate for without her recognizing the dangers & taking action we would not be watching this magnificent Osprey family 💕
Hi All here is a pic of the Rachel Carson Bridge in Pittsburgh…Donna mentioned it’s her Birthday 🎂
❤️
All 4 being fed
And now it’s nap time.
Kilo getting much fish 🐟
Wishing Rachel and Carson and their brood much success, especially today – which is Rachel Carson’s actual birthday! Many thanks to the Falmouth Osprey Project. I intend to donate.
I just posted the video clip to the highlights page. Here’s the direct link: https://www.friendsofmashpeenationalwildliferefuge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Bag-removed-from-nest-5-26-24.mp4
The Osprey Project is dedicated to the Osprey of Falmouth, Ma and the community that rallied around them to erect safe nesting sites for birds nesting on utility poles. Many thanks to the Osprey Project and Mick Moriarty for their heroic efforts to avoid potential disaster in the nest! You can donate directly to their cause here: https://www.falmouthtogetherwecan.org/general-8-1
Thank you for the video & the link for donations. We love our Cape Cod ospreys & appreciate those who keep them safe.
WOW! He made that look easy
oh wow! i missed it in real time. what a smooth operation-in and out-with the bag while it looked like rachel was flying overhead ready to dive bomb him. kudos to all who made this happen.
Thank you for sharing the clip of the bag removal. It was comforting to see it no longer posed a threat to the young osprey family.
Job well done!
Thank you.
Youngest one needs to get pushy. Not one bite at the 7:30 feeding.
Close up
Break-fish!
❤️!
Whew! So glad the nest is cleared….To the Falmouth Osprey Project, hip- hip Hooray! 👍🏼
I missed all the bag removal excitement yesterday but it’s great news that the plastic bag is gone. Thank you to the Falmouth Osprey Project. I’m looking forward to Glenn’s information on this organization.
I missed all the excitement today but sure am glad the bag has been taken care of. Now it looks like pecking order is being established…sigh
so glad to hear that this worked out and thanx to all involved who took care of this.
Phew !!! Thank you Glenn and those involved for getting Rachel out of her predicament. I am sure her intentions were for good, but the possible outcome would have been devastating!
Bye bye bad plastic
Hallelujah!!!
Thank you to whoever took the bag away
Carson delivered a fish at 5:02 pm Sunday
Rachel returned to the nest at 4:58 when the truck departed. Thank you
The chicks are hungry.
Oh wow! I just saw a guy come in one of those buckets and take out the plastic bag! Thank you to Glen and whom ever did the task of doing that! Much appreciated!
Thanks goes to the Falmouth Osprey Project! Will post more details about the amazing work they do tomorrow
Thank goodness for the Falmouth Osprey Project & you too. Can’t wait to see your post
Made my weekend 😀🇺🇸
Thanks Glenn and many thanks to all involved in this resolution.
Hi Merc, did Rachel just leave the nest when the guy came
Yay for the guys with the cherry picker. The bag is gone. Sunday 4:50 pm
16:49 Rachel just flew off, exposing all four babies for us to see!
Baby!!!!
Has anyone seen Carson today?
Oh I saw a dead osprey on the side of route six, maybe it was him.
Yes saw him around 7ish & then again, not sure of time
Thanks. She flew off twice today, not sure if for food
Is that a piece of plastic on the nest?😱
Any reply from wildlife people?
Yes, I’m watching that nest also it’s in Florida on Captiva. It was amazing to watch and we all breathed easier when it was removed. I hope the same can be done here for these chicks ❤️❤️❤️❤️
As a former aerial bucket operator and viewing their flight habits you want to set up between the tree and nest. When you see them leave the nest you can observe that they leave in an open direction and glide down gaining speed before flying.aThey never fly towards that evergreen tree.
Two pruning pole saw lengths with a hook on them would make things pretty safe. Doing this right before or at dusk when the birds do not usually fly will help.
Wear a helmet and heavy coat would help protect the exposed body in the bucket.
Most important is wearing your body harness that is attached to the bucket by a lanyard should you fall out.🌱
😀👍
4 chicks
Thankfully the chicks are not under it. A disguise?
Great view of four chicks
That plastic bag is making me nervous. Where is the wind when you need it. Rachel has pulled it over her chicks.
Wind may blow it out but let’s hope chicks are not wrapped up in it
Repurposing
Morning!
Fish delivery @ 7:14am
Not good
When Carson flew in earlier, no fish, he went right over to Rachel to visit for a bit. She got up and he Looked in on the chicks. It was a warm loving family moment, then Carson flew off. Maybe saying good night and he is close by 😊
Too risky to get close, I would think the parents might dive bomb the person to protect their kids. They are pleased to have four. Maybe a cherry picker parked a small distance away 🥴 with very long tongs. The birds are pretty smart. When it gets in their way, they’ll toss it. And I hope real soon before they get caught up in it.
I’m sure one typical Cape windy day will take care of the bag.
What May happen is if one picks it up with its talons they may not be able to get rid of it the same as a fish. Often you see it takes two.It could end up like fishing line wrapped around them.
On a lighter note, here is a pic from 7:18pm of Carson feeding Rachel.
It looks like Rachel is on the chicks & the bag is on the side, stuck on some of the sticks in the nest. I don’t think this is going to go anywhere unless someone removes it.