Forsythe Osprey Webcam – Salt Marsh Nest Near Atlantic City

The Forsythe Osprey Webcam looks down on an osprey nest built on a raised wooden platform in the salt marsh of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge at Oceanville, New Jersey. A fisheye lens bends the horizon into a curve, so the bowl of gray sticks sits in the middle of a wide sweep of marsh grass, golden brown in November, with a pool of open water just to its right. A dark line of trees closes the right side of the view, and a cluster of high-rises shows faintly on the far left of the skyline, most likely Atlantic City across the bay. From spring into late summer this is where an osprey pair repairs the nest, lays eggs and raises chicks. In the colder months the birds are away and the marsh itself becomes the picture.

About the Forsythe Osprey Nest

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 48,000 acres (19,400 hectares) of southern New Jersey’s coast, and more than three quarters of it is salt marsh. It began as two separate refuges, Brigantine in 1939 and Barnegat in 1967, and has carried its present name since 1984, when Congress named it after Edwin B. Forsythe, a New Jersey congressman who died that March. The refuge is on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance. Its headquarters and visitor center are in Oceanville, a community of 793 people at the 2020 census, in Galloway Township, Atlantic County.

Friends of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge runs the osprey camera in partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. The first cameras went up in 2013, and to mark the Friends group’s 25th anniversary the partners re-installed the nest platform and updated the live-stream cameras, with funding from The Klem Family Foundation and other supporters. Two cameras watch the one nest. A 2016 PhillyVoice report placed the platform on the marsh bordering Reeds Bay, with a view toward Atlantic City. The nest has a record of success too: in 2023 a Conserve Wildlife Foundation cam log noted four chicks hatching there and two fledging.

The main picture and the second tab show the same platform from different sides. In each, a white dome camera sits on a pole just behind the nest, so the two cameras appear to face each other across it. The second view looks toward a line of woods and a few pale houses at the edge of the marsh, with more open water at its right edge. Statewide, Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s preliminary 2026 survey counted 850 territorial osprey pairs.

Weather and Climate in Oceanville

The marsh has a coastal climate, tempered by the back bays and the Atlantic. At the Atlantic City Marina weather station across the water, January averages a high of 5°C (42°F) and a low of minus 1°C (30°F), and November highs are around 13°C (55°F). By then the platform is empty. New Jersey’s ospreys spend the winter in Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean, and young birds raised here usually stay in the south for about two years before they first come back, a round trip of the kind traced on our bird migration map.

The adults return in mid to late March and usually spend the first weeks adding sticks and courting, while April highs climb to about 14°C (57°F). Incubation takes about 40 days, so chicks typically hatch from late May into June, and the young make their first flights in July, when highs reach about 27°C (80°F) and nights stay near 21°C (71°F). Adult females usually set off south first, from mid to late August, and by early September most parents have gone, leaving the young to follow on their own. September highs of about 23°C (74°F) keep the fall mild, and by November the grass has turned tawny brown.

Things to Do Near Oceanville

The refuge’s Wildlife Drive is a 13-kilometer (8-mile) auto tour through the marsh from the headquarters, with two observation towers, one of them beside Gull Pond near the start, and a boardwalk out over the salt marsh. An entrance fee covers the drive and the trails at headquarters unless you hold a refuge annual pass, an America the Beautiful pass or a Duck Stamp. Several trails pass through coastal wetlands, freshwater ponds, fields and woodland, and the Visitor Information Center plays the osprey camera on a monitor for anyone who stops in.

Historic Smithville and its Village Greene, both in Galloway Township, are a short drive inland from the refuge. Atlantic City lies about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) to the south, where the Boardwalk runs along the ocean and the Absecon Lighthouse overlooks Absecon Inlet. First lit on January 15, 1857, it is the tallest lighthouse in New Jersey.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More osprey nests and Jersey Shore views to try next:

• Barnegat Light Osprey Webcam
• Hog Island Osprey Webcam
• Atlantic City Boardwalk Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Forsythe Osprey Webcam located?

The camera watches a nest platform in the salt marsh of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge at Oceanville, in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey. The platform is on the marsh near the refuge headquarters, and Atlantic City lies about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) to the south across the back bays.

What can you see on the Forsythe Osprey Webcam?

A wide fisheye view of the stick nest on its wooden platform, with marsh grass running to a curved horizon and faint high-rises toward Atlantic City. The second tab shows the same nest from the other side. From late March to late summer the ospreys fill the frame with nest building, incubation, fish deliveries and growing chicks.

What is the weather like in Oceanville?

Mild and coastal. July highs reach about 27°C (80°F), while January averages 5°C (42°F) by day and minus 1°C (30°F) at night at the Atlantic City Marina station.

Why is the Forsythe Osprey Webcam nest empty?

Ospreys migrate. The adults leave New Jersey from late August, the young follow later, and they spend the winter in Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean. The platform normally stays empty from early fall until the birds return in mid to late March, and in the meantime the cameras show the marsh and the bare nest.

When do the ospreys come back to Forsythe refuge?

Ospreys reach the Jersey Shore in mid to late March, according to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, and the young usually fly in July.

Who runs the Forsythe osprey cameras?

Friends of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, in partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. The cameras date from 2013 and were updated when the platform was re-installed. Both streams are broadcast on the SeeThisView-Battleship NJ YouTube channel.

Can you see the Forsythe osprey nest in person?

The platform stands out in the marsh, but the refuge’s Visitor Information Center in Oceanville shows the live camera picture on a monitor, and the Wildlife Drive starts from the headquarters.

Source: Friends of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge