Hellgate Osprey Nest Cam

A Wild Raptor Nest on the River

This camera overlooks a thriving osprey nest built atop a purpose-made platform near the Clark Fork River, at the dramatic mouth of Hellgate Canyon. Ospreys are consummate fishing raptors, soaring on six-foot wingspans before diving feet-first for prey.

The Resident Pair and Their Young

The famous female, identifiable by the distinctive spots on her iris, has returned to this site for many years to raise successive broods. Viewers can follow incubation, hatching, and the feeding and fledging of the chicks across the breeding season.

An Urban Wildlife Setting

Remarkably, the nest sits in a busy corner of Missoula — beside parking lots, a railroad, and a highway — yet the ospreys thrive thanks to their prime riverfront hunting grounds. It is a vivid study of wildlife adapting alongside people.

Conservation and Research

Run as part of a long-standing Montana osprey research effort, this feed contributes valuable data on breeding success and raptor behavior, while connecting a global audience to the natural rhythms of a wild bird of prey.