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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 food at all since yesterday despite constant calling from both chicks 😟
I don’t think I can watch anymore, this is heartbreaking!!
I Agree. This is heartbreaking.
He’s baaaack
I wonder how they decide when they are ready to fly off. It’s a big step from flying across the nest to taking off into the wild blue yonder.
We have lift off!
thanx for pic 😍
Oh look at that.
The oldest fledged 7/9 8:44am
At about 8:45 this morning, one of them (sorry, I’m not sure which one) flew off!
at 8:44:47, he takes off – how exciting to see one of the little ones fly off
Oscar just fledged!
Oscar just flew the coop-8:45 am
Even if Oscar and Papa survive to fledging, will Rachel and Carson even bother to show them how to fish?
No one teaches an Osprey how to fish.
it is an innate ability and instinct which they are born with.
Eventually the fly eggs on the deceased bird carcass will become maggots which the birds can eat for protein.
For all viewing one of the many cycles of nature!
Also, I have watched the Osprey dive and fish for years but this year there has been no such activity.
As an observer who lives on the mouth of the Mount Hope Bay and Sakonnet River in Tiverton, RI. I have to think back that in early spring the Pogie Boats would troll all night for weeks , for the Menhaden fish, which is the same fish the Osprey prefer for the high Omega-3. This season , even the local fishermen have given up because they are not catching any fish! Mainly Bass which feed on smaller fish. This may shed some light in the sad events that are affecting our Osprey . I watch the Mashphee and Jamestown nest. Jamestown started with a clutch of four and now all four have passed . Mashpee nest is headed in the same direction. Are there any environmentalists or someone who has knowledge of all of that is occurring during this season that can shed any light ?
I dont know whether Osprey are subject to Bird Flu but i know in general, our bird population has decreased in recent years due to it.
Recently 23 Mass beaches were closed due to bacterial contamination. That may affect the fish and Osprey.
The worst worry i have is the slow releases of radioactive water into the ocean from the decommissioned Plymouth Nuclear Power plant.
Perhaps if any of these other fishing areas have nearby Nuclear Power plants the same releases happen. The releases are allowed by the NRC.
Are there Windmills in the ocean there?
I have to wonder, is it just our waters around here? I follow the Milford Point cam in Connecticut, mother is always there, and they are constantly eating.
Will eating the carcas make the others sick?
As sad as this is, it is a privilege to watch nature from this view. So much goes on in the wild we never see.
If you look closely at the deceased bird you’ll see flies all over it. That means her layer eggs and mother nature will start completing the decomposition of the body.
Flies are laying their eggs!
The shadow we saw of a bird flying overhead might have been Carson showing the chicks what is next for them ???
They might think Quebec’s carcass is food for them, delaying their need to fledge.
If they get hungary enough they will fledge. Rachael and Carson will lead them to the ocean and show them how to fish. That would be a sight to behold.
the parents don’t have to lead them they can see and smell the ocean from where they are…They just have to show them how to dive and catch fish
2:02 I haven’t see Carson in a long time.
1:33 pm Rachael is there. But no fish. They appear to be eating the bird carcass. I am just curious, with the number of ospreys on the Cape is it possible for the area to be overfished?
Mom and kids squawking for Carson to bring home the fish:)
so rachel is on the nest at 12:30pm, 7/8, aside from a lot of squawking (another osprey was circling overhead-you could see it’s shadow) it doesn’t appear that she brought a fish, or is interested in oscar and papa. i have not seen either trying to fledge lately and papa isn’t even sitting up.
She did bring a fish. The oldest one grabbed a piece, she had a piece, and the little one had nothing. The little one kept trying to get some from Rachel, I think it managed to get a few pieces. Then tried with the oldest one, no luck. So that’s when the little one started on the carcass.
I can’t believe these osprey youngsters are having to resort to eating off of a dead sibling carcass because of lack of fish being provided. I’ve heard our waters are being over fished but where are the menhaden.
I follow a nest in Milford Point, CT, they are always eating, the mother is also still feeding them herself! I too cannot understand what is going on here.
Did anyone see how the carcass got to the middle of the nest?
Unfortunately, at 11:48 AM, it is being eaten by the siblings and is moved to the center
The little one did not get any of the fish that Rachel brought back so resorted to eating the carcass. The little one dragged it to the middle of the nest.
Thank you Nadine.
Rachel instructed them to eat the carcass and they flipped it over to middle of the nest
https://www.capecodtimes.com/videos/news/2022/04/08/epic-osprey-rescue-harwich-2013/9517699002/
An inspiring , caring Osprey rescue.
don’t understand why Rachel and Carson are neglecting the nest this season. Looking back on previous years, Rachel was a constant thru fledging and beyond. is there a lack of fish? Could a drone be sent up and deliver fish? it’s gonna get hotter and without sustenance how will they have the strength to fledge? I know they are wild animals, but being we are aware of their situation, can’t something be done?
The Jamestown nest had a clutch of four. The youngest chick died which seemed to be from his siblings not allowing him to eat. Then another chick passed soon after. Then it seemed Dad stopped bringing fish. Also, Mom seemed to have no interest and stopped returning to the nest . Sadly , all four chicks have passed.
I was following that nest too. I have to wonder if the parents sensed that the chicks were ill and that’s why they stopped bringing food and not returning to the nest? It was SO heartbreaking watching it.
It seems to be a tough year for osprey. I am watching 4 nests in New England and each one has lost at least one chick.
At 6:45pm last night there was one bird in the nest. Maybe Oscar is learning how to fish.
I think one was laying down next to the little one. Sometimes it’s hard to see them
Ya I think you are right.. I saw that a while later but didn’t back track.
Then again, it might be just me thinking too deeply. 🙂
Rachael brought a fish to the nest abd stayed for awhile. She has a tail feather out of place, it helps to identify her. I think it was yesterday morning. Oscar ate his fill then Papa took it. I saw Papa peck a couple of times ar Quebec’s wing but then stopped. They would look at Quebec like they were confused about the lifeless body. Haha I love the way we try to interpret what they are thinking. I saw the bird with it’s head down looking at Quebec like it was mourning the loss of a sibling.
I noticed that the chicks will often lay with their heads facing poor Quebec, like they are trying to understand why he doesn’t move.
I feel like Rachel has abandoned them. I feel like in past years she would still be on the nest with them.
This is not the same bird (So called Rachel) as in past years..
Deb, what makes you think this?
Rachel is a generic female name given to each female that arrives at this nest.to breed.
the birds were not banded, so no one can tell who each one truly is.
this bird did not look like last years at all. Seemed like a younger smaller bird.
why everyone has to think it is the same bird escapes me.
Is anyone having problems with audio?
No audio for me either.
Yes. No sound.
Glenn, Mona had a great suggestion below. Is there anyway we can supplement the 2 chicks with fish to keep them healthy?
Has anyone seen Carson lately? Have only seen Rachel bringing fish to the nest. This is the first year food hasn’t been provided religiously to the chicks as in past years.
It appears that one of the birds died no later than July 5. Why hasn’t it been removed from the nest and an autopsy into the cause of death conducted?
Isn’t there a way to supplement their food until they can hunt for themselves or is that just not something that can be done?
Mona, that is exactly what we should do! I’ll call it the Fish Fairy, but I have seen it done at the Port Lincoln Australia osprey nest.
Glenn, is there someway that could be done?
I would love to see that happen! I’m concerned the second chick might be getting weak. The oldest does not share any fish and I haven’t seen the second chick eat lately. After losing the youngest I would hate to see the second chick have the same fate. Last year none of the chicks survived😢
Yesterday when Rachel brought a fish back, the oldest immediately claimed it and would not let the second get any. After a while, and after some attempts, the second finally took it away from the oldest! The oldest tried to get it back, but the second would not let that happen.
This entire sad course of events is due to one thing
Lack of sufficient fish delivered.
Why that occured is unknown.
Both are pecking at the carcass