Residents and visitors who enjoy following the ospreys that return to the island each spring have a lot to celebrate. The H.L. Ferguson Museum’s much-anticipated new Osprey Cam became operational in mid-March. The Dahua 32x IR PTZ Network Camera features a 32x optical zoom lens, and is capable of capturing long-distance outdoor video surveillance day or night.

“With the 32x optical zoom lens we expect to provide a higher quality and viewable image size,” says Beth Jepsen of Insite Design, LLC, who designed and manages the Museum’s website where the live feed from the osprey cam can be viewed.

The camera is expected to provide much greater color details in low-light conditions and is equipped with quick and accurate pan/tilt/zoom control. While the previous camera was not set up for SSL (secure sockets layer), the new one offers secure streaming over HTTPS.

“The camera will also have an audio function, which we did not have previously,” says Jepsen. “In addition, its Live Streaming Network minimizes bandwidth usage, allowing us to stream higher-quality video. The previous feed was choppy. The new system is also able to maintain 30 days recording, so we can go back and grab significant events.”

The funds to purchase the new Osprey Cam were donated by George and Leslie Conant. Funds to cover several years of annual streaming fees, which have gone up considerably, were donated by Nick Spofford and Jennifer Sanger through the Spofford Foundation, with additional funds to cover streaming provided by Jennifer Russell.

The previous camera was purchased in 2012 with funds donated by the Fishers Island Conservancy. After it ceased to function properly in July 2021, a search was undertaken that led to the new camera and a higher-quality streaming service.

The Museum would like to thank the Fishers Island Utility Corp. for its support on this project, the Fishers Island Telephone Corp. for installing the new camera on short notice, and the Fishers Island Electric Corp. for donating the use of equipment for the installation of a new nesting platform at the Osprey Cam site. The platform itself was generously constructed and donated by Pirates Cove Marine. The volunteers who worked early on a Sunday morning to mount the platform were Harrison Hall and Kenny Ahman of Fishers Island Electric, and Tom Doyen of Fishers Island Telephone, with additional assistance and coordination provided by Jim Baker, along with Ken Edwards, Jeff and Benjamin Edwards. Photographing the project from start to finish were Steve Head of Fishers Island Telephone, Catherine Edwards, and Pierce Rafferty. We thank you all for such a great group effort!

Want to jump right into the action? The osprey have been hard at work building a new nest at Middle Farms Flats. Check out their progress in these short clips. Building a new osprey nest at Middle Farm.

Video: Time lapsed video of nest platform installation on March 20, 2022.

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