Captured on Live Cam: Osprey

Sunlight & Seasons

Osprey Chick

Viewing Season
April - September

Featured Video Clips
Osprey Babies Debut
Family Roles
Born to Eat
Pecking Order
Daily Details
Birds of a Feather
Three Hungry Chicks
Flying Lessons
Pia Fledges
Poole Fledges

For the Classroom
Viewing Guide

Welcome to the home of ospreys Rachel and Steve in Hog Island, Maine. Perched atop a 30-foot tower, this live cam peers directly into the nest, where Rachel and Steve reunite every spring after a winter apart.

In the Spring, watch for...
Here's the typical timing for these key nesting events:

April 6: First adult returns to nest
April 11: Both adults now at nest
April 27: First egg
April 30: Second egg
Beginning of May: Third egg
June 4: First egg pips
June 5: First egg hatches
June 6: Second egg hatches
June 9: Third egg hatches
July 9: Eating and growing
July 21: Practicing flight skills
July 31: First chick fledged
August 1: Second chick fledged
August 7: Third chick fledged
End of August: First fall migration

* Dates are from 2014.

Background
Osprey are birds of prey that rely almost entirely on fish, so they nest and raise their chicks near water. Rachel and Steve make their summer home atop a 30-foot tower located at the Maine Audubon Camp on Hog Island. The pair returns each year in early April after wintering in South America. Egg-laying takes place at the end of the month. Rachel does most of the incubation, while Steve often feeds her at the nest. After two months of rapid growth, the chicks begin to fly in early August. In early September, the young will begin fall migration traveling solo.

Presented by explore.org and Audubon