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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.
PS. Hopefully the baby’s carcass will blow off the nest today to spare its dignity. It certainly does not appear that either Rachel or Carson are going to remove Quebec’s remains. 😥
Unfortunately, due to lack of hydration via fish yesterday, the second-born chick had to resort to cannibalism
. Was eating the carcass of the deceased baby to survive. The oldest fledgling refused to share any fish which was delivered by the parents yesterday. As to mourning the sibling’s loss, I think the bird is actually sticking close to it’s only food source.
I was following a nest in Jamestown, RI that had 3 chicks (all of whom, sadly, died). The smallest chick died first, and one of the other chicks always stayed by the body, until that chick sadly died (right next to the first one). I noticed that before the 2nd chick died, both parents were absent a lot of the time from the nest. I watched the last chick get weaker and weaker (it was so heartbreaking) and again, both parents were largely absent from the nest. I think they knew that neither chick was going to survive.
Rachel (I believe) showed up around 9pm last night and has been there since. I only saw one fish delivered yesterday and hoping Carson and/or Rachel will bring more than that today. It seems as though one of the chicks (sorry – I can’t see the band numbers) has been staying close to Quebec as though mourning. So sad 🙁
the larger one wouldn’t share lunch yesterday and the sibling was picking/ trying to eat the dead chick. Crazy!
Haven’t noticed the adults lately.
Glenn. I started watching the live osprey cam in Gloucester MA and see the momma Annie sitting watching the children. Does Rachel sit nearby on our nest ?.. check out the photo
Both getting ready to fly ❤️
Glenn, can an illness be passed from a fish to an Osprey? We have seen eggs disappear, new hatchlings die and removed, but to see Quebec, 2+ months old die like this was really sad. I wondered if he could have contracted a disease, causing Rachael to concentrate on feeding the other two? Or am I thinking to deeply about this?
It’s not my area of expertise, but I’ve never heard of disease being passed from a fish. As James pointed out, it was probably just lack of food and thus, hydration. Rodenticide poisoning has also been an issue for ospreys and other raptors, but we’ve seen no reports of animals other than fish being consumed in the nest. We should all avoid using mouse and rat poison for this reason. Adult ospreys instinctually do their best to ensure at least one of their offspring survive, not necessarily all three. This is hard for us to comprehend but that’s the way it is in nature.
Thank you
The smallest hatchling was dying through the heat wave.
Food doesn’t only give them energy it gives them their liquid that they require to stay hydrated. Without that liquid the birds become over stressed!
I’m surprised that one of the adult birds has not removed it from the nest already being deceased.
He is eatting the dead bird in the nest now.
The large one will not share the fish with the other who is now picking at the carcass of the sibling, so sad to see.
so sad
Ok. this is gross the little one is deceased , Oscar has a fish and won’t share, papa is pecking at the little one’s carcass 9:34 am, 7/6. Now what??
Yes breakfast arrived. The biggest one takes over. The other stands by with head lowered and shoulders up – totally in submission. Seems like he is asking for a bite or two but biggest just says NO. I have been watching for many years and I don’t ever remember such a bully. He will probably be a good provider as an adult but seems to have never learned any manners.
Little one looks very bad this morning . He was up yesterday afternoon.
Carson just brought a fish to the nest!
Sadly, the youngest osprey seemed to die from heat and lack of food. It is heartbreaking to witness, and many of us grew attached to watching its daily life. To those who insist we should have done something, it’s important to remember that this is a wild animal living in a wild environment. No person caused this, and the folks who maintain the camera and the nest platform are not responsible for the birds’ conditions or their fate. The ospreys are not our pets and they aren’t cared for by people. Intervention only happens when something human-caused threatens the nest, like removing a plastic bag or other debris that doesn’t belong there. The chicks were banded this year for research purposes. Beyond that, the birds are left to live as wild animals, without human management or feeding. The camera was placed simply to provide a window into nature – and sometimes nature is difficult to watch. Thank you to everyone who cared so deeply. Moments like this remind us that the natural world is beautiful, unpredictable, and often beyond our control.
So no plans to remove Quebec?
At this age, removing the dead chick is risky since the remaining chicks are able to jump and could flee the nest. Hopefully Carson or Rachel will remove it soon.
I was wondering if either of the parents would remove it. Leaving it in the nest will only draw insects and decomposure which I don’t believe the viewers will wish to see happen. Every season has been different. It’s sad to see such a sad outcome this late. But watching the nest this way isn’t very enticing. I hope natural instincts of the osprey will take their course as in past losses of the offspring.
OMG, I am just catching up on this unbelievable devastating news and feel so sad. Because this nest is on a camera we are seeing nature at one of its worst. This is not a nice sight and I do wonder how osprey handle this type of situation with/without the help of us. I did a google search on this type of situation (close to when they are ready to fledge) and the AI Overview said there were a couple possible outcomes: If food situation is sparse, the chicks could resort to cannibalization, or decomposition could result in flies and potential nest sanitization risks. If I provide more details there is more info to be gleaned from the AI Overview.
I am still sooooooo devastated 🙏😢
My have they grown big. The bird on the far left in the picture does not appear to have a band, maybe it is Rachael.
The 2 chicks still have feathers that blend in with the nest. Rachael and Carson have darker back feathers.
Three chicks before sunrise.
One of the birds is Rachael
2:47am Quebec is breathing.
The Great Bay New Hampshire nest had two chicks die this year. One disappered, fell out or was taken. The other dead chick lingered in the nest for days. One chick remains and seems healthy.
What happened to the third Osprey? What will be done next to remove Osprey.
thanks
BJ
I’m not sure that the other two are going to survive. They’re overheated dehydrated and no food. I don’t understand why the parents aren’t bringing fish. I get it. This is nature at its worst, but I don’t understand how they’ll be strong enough to fly
They’ve been eating today.
The young one dying is very sad and tragic but it is nature and nasty remarks are not at all necessary and very unfair to Glen who worked so hard to make the Osprey nest happen.
Please remember how much pleasure and enjoyment we get watching the Cam.
I haven’t seen any nasty remarks. People wonder why no one intervened, that’s all. They intervened to band them, but not to hydrate the little one!
So sad – fly free little one.
I agree with Leslie. Nature takes it’s course but if they could band him, they could taken him out of the nest. Now what?
This is so sad. Fly free now, little one.
I like that thought. The little one is flying free now.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to enjoy this nest for the rest of the season. This is tough.
So very cruel to not have helped him! RIP little one🦅
R I P. LITTLE ONE. Last breath taken at 2:55 pm
R I P. LITTLE ONE. last breath taken at 2:55 pm.
At about 2:15 the little one was begging for help. I was hoping he would push the bigger one off the edge
So sad, had hopes this morning for the little one.
The little one isn’t “laying low” – he’s dead. He’s been dying for days on no one rescued him. He was left to suffer needlessly. People were there to make sure he got tagged, but no one cared to either grab him up and help him – or at least euthanize him. And so now what…is he to bake in the sun? Will everyone watch as his siblings make a meal of his remains. What’s wrong with you people!!! I watch the nest in Gloucester…The caring Greenbelt folks there rushed in last year to remove plastic and netting the blew into the nest and was strangling one of the chicks. I will never watch this Mashpee site again. Shame on you!
I agree. Someone could have helped the little one before it got this far. He was up earlier (I’ve been watching all day) but now he really looks rough😢💔
Whomever is responsible for tending this particular nest should be reported to the MSPCA. Absolute neglect and undo animal cruelty.
No one is “responsible” for the tending of this wild osprey nest. They are not inhabitants of a rescue or rehabilitation center. “Neglect” and “undo animal cruelty” only comes from being owners of an animal.
Oh…. poor little one. Hopefully it is no longer suffering. I know it’s nature taking its course but still horribly sad to watch. : (
It looks as tho the youngest may not have survived. Has been laying still with wings splayed open since 2:55. I don’t see any breathing. This is so sad to see. I hope someone notices soon.
The little one doesn’t look very well. Can’t seem to stand up.
Didn’t make it, poor thing.
Nice to see little one (Quebec) up. Has there been a fish delivery today? I have been on and off all day and have not seen one.
There was a fish delivery around 8:20 this morning. The little one never got up to get any. The oldest chick had control of the fish
Maybe get Quebec to Wild Care in Orleans if things don’t improve?
Rachael and Carson are weaning the chicks. Time for them to develop the skill of flight to follow their parents to learn to fish on their own. There is always hope for Quebec. I think of Charlie from year #1. Nature is about survival of the fittest. I think he knows to lay low so his/her siblings leave him alone. Quebec pooped a while ago. A good thing I imagine.