An osprey returns! Is it Rachel? (3-20-25)
The Great Horned Owl who has been visiting the nest at night seems to sense that the ospreys have arrived to make the nest their home for the season. As soon as it lands, the owl is startled by an approaching osprey. It then is wary of the osprey’s call, and about 5 minutes later, it is chased off by Carson. (3-28-25)
A herd of 6 deer roam around under and near the nest one evening. (This is shown at 10x speed to track their activity over a 6-minute period.) (4-6-25)
First egg! Laid on April 9th at 7:11pm! (4-9-25)
Second egg. After a cold, rainy day, Rachel lays her second egg on April 12th at 6:43pm. (4-12-25)
Third egg. With Carson there to watch, Rachel lays her third egg of the season. (4-15-25)
Carson brings back a large stick and places it right on top of Rachel. It took a little wrangling to move it to the side, carefully protecting the eggs, giving us a good view of the 3 eggs in the nest. (4-16-25)
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.
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.
Learn more about osprey on Cape Cod.
If you’d like to show your appreciation for the nest cam, please Support the Friends of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge! Thank you in advance!