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Home » Osmp » Live Boulder Osprey Cam

Live Boulder Osprey Cam

Nest Updates:

March 27:   Female osprey arrived at nest.
March 28:   Male osprey arrived at nest.
April 19:      First egg laid. 
May 26:       Nest failed. Egg appeared to be non viable.
 

Attention:

We are disappointed to announce that the nest has failed for the 2019 nesting season. Both of the adults took great care with the egg, it appears that the egg was not viable. The female removed the egg from the nest on May 26th. This is the first unsuccessful nesting attempt since 2011. While uncommon for this nest, we expect any given nest to fail occasionally. This nest has fledged 14 osprey, and there are several other osprey nests on OSMP properties. It is unfortunate that this nest has failed, but overall osprey are doing well on OSMP managed lands. 

2018 Nest Timeline:

March 23:  Nonresident female osprey seen at nest.
March 25:  Male osprey arrived at nest.
March 28:  Female osprey arrived at nest.
April 19:  Egg No. 1 laid. 
May 31:  Chick hatched.
July 25:  Chick fledged 
 

Viewing Tips:

The camera is solar powered and completely “off the grid”. Prolonged periods of inclement weather may cause temporary outages. If an outage occurs, please be patient and we will restore the live stream as quickly as possible. 

Background Information:

This video system was initially set up by Parks and Recreation staff at the Boulder reservoir for monitoring osprey. However, for the past several years Canada Geese have successfully defended that nest from osprey. In spring 2016, OSMP partnered with Parks and Recreation to upgrade some of the camera components and move the system to a more dependable Osprey nest near Valmont Reservoir. In 2017 OSMP staff installed a new HD camera for a clearer picture. With the help of other city departments, including Information Technology and Utilities, we now have the camera streaming live! 

OSMP wildlife staff have been monitoring the Osprey nest since 2011. Since then the nest has been successful every year, fledging a total of 14 young! 

When viewing the osprey, the male and female can be identified by their different markings. The female osprey has a “bib” of dark feathers on her chest, whereas the male has an almost completely white chest.

Timeline:

Monitoring of this osprey nest in past years has indicated:

  • March 20 - April 10: Adult osprey return to the nest
  • April 21 - May 9: Eggs laid and incubation begins
  • June 9 - June 24: Eggs hatch
    • Osprey eggs hatch in 36-42 days after being laid
  • Aug. 5 - Aug. 23: Young fledge
    • Fledging occurs 50-55 days after hatching 

Video Highlights:

Highlights from 2018 season.

Highlights from 2017 season.