About the "OspreyCam"

March 11, 2011 A close-up of one of our breeding pair of ospreys. Photo courtesy VIMS Osprey Cam.

March 11, 2011 Our breeding pair of ospreys prepare their nest. Photo courtesy VIMS Osprey Cam.

The VIMS water tower and osprey nest. The video feed from the “OspreyCam” at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science comes from an Axis PTZ-214© surveillance camera. The camera captures real-time streaming video during daytime (visible light) and nighttime (infrared) hours throughout the breeding and nesting season, and its pan-tilt-zoom feature allows VIMS researchers and a cadre of trained volunteers to track the adults and hatchlings as they move about the nest. The video is fed wirelessly from the water tower to a computer server in a nearby administrative building.

The camera is positioned on a pole above the nest to provide the best viewing angle and minimize fouling of the camera lens.

The VIMS OspreyCam was installed in spring of 2011 and operates during the osprey breeding and nesting season in Chesapeake Bay, which generally lasts from mid-March to October.