How to Participate in OspreyWatch

OspreyWatch is a global community of observers focused on documenting breeding osprey. There is no charge to participate and we welcome new volunteers to the program.

Step 1: Register

Register and confirm your account

Step 2: Find an Osprey Nest to Monitor

Step 3: Start Observing a Nest

We recommend monitoring a nest 1-4 times a month. There are three ways to enter your observations on the OspreyWatch website.

Activity Report
Log an activity at the nest. These are milestone events in the breeding chronology of the nest. Data entered in the activity report forms will be tabulated for the annual project report and used to calculate breeding statistics. Learn more about each activity on the Osprey Basics page.

  • Date of pair arrival
  • Date of egg laying
  • Date of incubation initiation
  • Date of clutch hatching
  • Number of nestlings
  • Number of fledglings
  • Date of first chick fledging
  • Date chicks last observed at nest
  • Date of nest failure
  • Reason for nest failure

Photos
Add photos of activities at the nest.

Nesting Diary
While Activity Report data is the most important for our research, you can use diary entries to log additional details of your observations, when needed.