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Welcome to our Bay/nest cam. In 2016, we installed this 35-foot high penthouse overlooking the Bay and our Philip Merrill Environmental Center—CBF's headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland—in hopes of attracting an osprey couple. Over the years it has housed osprey and more frequently geese!
Often called the "osprey garden," the Chesapeake Bay has the most concentrated population of osprey in the world. Every spring, these quintessential Chesapeake birds travel thousands of miles to return to the same nests, where they reunite with their mate, breed, and fish for menhaden and other food.
Visit our osprey page to learn more about these quintessential Chesapeake birds that call the Bay region home. Check out our osprey tracking map for a historical look at the seasonal travels of some local osprey.
Video Highlights
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April 2022 - Goslings Jump from Nest
28 Apr 2022 00:01:21On April 28, 2022 mama and papa goose cajoled their brood to make the jump from their elevated nest. The parents flew five minutes before the first chick joined them on the ground. We've sped up the video as it took eight minutes for all the goslings to get up the nerve to join their parents.
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April 2020 - Goslings Jump from Osprey Platform
24 Apr 2020 00:00:58Our Canada geese were back again. They hatched seven eggs, and everyone hopped off the nest on April 24.
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April 2019 - Goslings Jump from Nest
28 Apr 2019 00:03:09During the first few weeks of March, an osprey and its mate were hovering around the nest, but a pair of geese who were also eyeing the platform beat them to it. On April 28, our Canada gees couple's seven goslings jumped the nest.
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August 2018 - Baby Osprey's First Flight
25 Aug 2018Our first osprey chick took her first flight from the nest!
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July 2018 - Baby Osprey Feasting on Menhaden
16 Jul 2018On July 2, a pair of osprey hatched a chick of their own. Here’s a video of mama osprey feeding the baby a hearty meal of menhaden.
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May 2018 - Goslings Jump from Platform
08 May 2018 00:04:00Canada geese once again took up residence in the nest. The parents and their goslings departed the nest in May and headed for the waters of Black Walnut Creek.
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May 2017 - Goslings Depart Unusually High Nest
08 May 2017 00:00:55Before the osprey could lay claim to their nest, a pair of Canada geese took possession in early April and mother goose laid six eggs. In May, the six goslings followed their parents in taking the 35-foot plunge off the osprey platform to the ground. A few minutes later, the family took their first swim together in the waters of Black Walnut Creek.
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May 2016 - Osprey Eggs Destroyed
13 May 2016 00:08:34A young osprey couple called this nest their home and even produced some eggs. Unfortunately, those eggs were consumed by a crow when left unattended.
Please remember that this is no Disney film! Nature can be a cruel place, but it is our policy not to interfere with anything that goes on in the nest. We also will use our discretion to turn off the cameras at any time should we choose.
