Osprey nest is on top of a communications tower at the Hilton Head Island office of Palmetto Electric Cooperative. The Co-op created a platform for the ospreys to nest. The platform is roughly 6.5' x 7' chain link fence with hardware cloth underneath. This nest has a web cam which is working for the 2020 season.
Carol T reports: “We have confirmed that Bea and Jasper returned for their 11th season. Since their arrival they have made many repairs to the nest. The pair has been mating often and we anticipate a clutch of eggs by early March.”
(from the web cam blog)
Carol T reports: As of February 10th, the latest blog post states they are still trying to confirm. Some of the familiar markings are there, but not all.
Carol T reports: On February 8th a female appeared on the platform. Jasper has attempted mating, so for that reason the thinking is it must be Bea, the mate for the last ten seasons. Close-ups of her are trying to be obtained to confirm.
Carol T reports: According to the webcam blog:
On January 30th an osprey was spotted in the nest . Two days later, February 1st, the Osprey was confirmed to be Jasper, the male for the last ten seasons.
Carol T shared the blog post from the web camera site: “Hey Everyone, sorry about the lack of posts. With everything going on the Osprey blog was pushed aside. In the last post, April 22nd, Bea and Jasper lost their youngest chick KS. But SZ has fledged. Often the trio has been seen on surrounding trees and on various parts of the communication tower. SZ will stay with its parents until it is time to migrate south.”
Carol T reports: There have been no additional posts from the webcam blog since 4/20/20, when it was reported that chick #2 had died.
I visited the nest a few days ago, on 5/24/20 and observed one adult and the remaining juvenile sitting at the edge of the platform.
Yesterday, 5/25/20, I visited the webcam and the remaining juvenile was sitting at the edge of the platform with no adults in sight.
Today, 5/26/20, I visited the webcam and there were no Ospreys on the nesting platform!
I continued to watch for about fifteen minutes and it remained empty!
NOTE: Based on this report, we assume that the 1 chick has fledged successfully about May 20th. That would be about right with hatching on March 19th and fledging about 8 weeks later. The youngster may still be around the nest for another 5-6 weeks under the parent's care.
Carol T reports: As of today, 5/12/20 there have been no additional updates from the webcam blog since the last one on 4/20/20.
I checked the webcam today and there appeared to be one adult in the nest, laying down, which appeared to be sleeping.
There was another Osprey sitting at the edge of the platform, which must have been the chick, as it didn’t look like an adult. I’m happy to report that it looked large and healthy!
Carol T reports: “Bea and Jasper lost their youngest chick, KS. We aren't sure of the day KS died. It's death could have been to sibling rivalry or due to exposure during the severe lighting and thunderstorms we had a few days ago.”
Carol T reports: On 4/7/20 the webcam blog reports “The chicks are doing well and are now growing their pin feathers.”
The attached photo is from the webcam
Carol T reports based on the web cam: From The webcam blog posted on February 25: “It's been nineteen days since the first egg was laid so we are about half way through the incubation period. The pair has been dealing with colder temperatures and rain the last week, but all in all their routine hasn't been hampered with intruding ospreys and the fish have been plentiful.”
Carol T. reports: According to the Palmetto Electric Blog, Bea and Jasper were both spotted on the nest January 9th!
The first egg of the season was laid February 6th, Followed by egg number two on February 9th.
And a third egg as of February 12th.
Note: this nest is on the Palmetto Electric Property and the osprey have long been known as Bea and Jasper. There is a web cam for this nest:
https://www.palmetto.coop/osprey-habitats/
A photo of the three eggs found on the website blog has been posted.
Carol T reports: The webcam blog reports that today, 5/23/19, the oldest chick finally fledged!
This is exciting news because Bea and Jasper have not had a successful clutch in three years.
Congratulations to this Osprey family! We will miss them until next year.
Carol T reports: The webcam blog reports that on the morning of 5/21/19 the youngest of the two chicks fledged! The older chick should be following suit any day now.
The attached photos were taken by me on 5/19/21, just a couple of days before fledging. They show the chicks flapping their wings and hovering above the nest platform.
Carol T reports: This marks the sixth week since the 2 chicks have hatched. The blog reports that they are growing rapidly and the webcam bears this out.
I have not been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the chicks on my visits. I sure hope I am able to view them before they fledge!
Carol T reports: According to the blog and webcam, the two chicks are doing well and growing like weeds!
This week marks the fifth week since they hatched. Seems hard to believe they will fledge in just two or three more weeks!
Carol T reports: As of 4/8/19 the blog reports:
Unfortunately the third egg never hatched, but the other two chicks are becoming quite mobile and as of today are moving small sticks and clumps of spanish moss about the nest. With the chicks hatching close together and the abundance of fish that Jasper is bringing to his family there hasn't been too much aggression between the siblings.
Carol T reports based on blog info: On 3/28/19 the blog reports:
Today marks the 41st day since the third egg was laid. We haven't noticed any sign of a pip in the egg shell and at this stage in the game, it may be best if the third chick doesn't hatch as it will be so far behind in development compared to the other two chicks and likely wouldn't survive.
Carol T reports: According to the blog and webcam the first egg has hatched on 3/21/19.
This is great news! They are hoping the other two eggs will follow suit in the coming days. This first chick is named AG and hatched within 38 days.
Carol T reports based on blog info: Nest #2514
According to the latest blog report, chick number two hatched 3/23/19 marking 38 days from being laid to hatching.
Carol T. reports: According to web cam info entered on 3/1/19 there is not much excitement going on.
Bea and Jasper are taking turns incubating the three eggs. The first egg should hatch the week after St. Patrick’s Day.
observer Carol T. reports:Nest 2514
On recent visits to the nest, I was continuing to observe incubation and the web cam supported this as well. However, the web cam blog posted this information on April 19th:
“Unfortunately for the pair, Bea and Jasper, they will not have any chicks to raise this summer. The chicks should have hatched the first full week of April. Today marks the 59th day since the 3rd egg was laid and the 54th day for the 4th egg. This is a first for the pair to not have any chicks hatch. The last two years the chicks and eggs fell through the nest leaving the pair with no offspring. As you may recall the first and second egg were from a different male.
Bea and Jasper will likely cover the eggs where they will break apart and decompose. We are not sure how long the pair will continue to incubate the eggs. After so many years of successful osprey seasons, it's hard to believe we are in our third consecutive year with no juvenile ospreys to see fledge. It is our conclusion that the eggs failed due to infertility.”
Very sad news. Let’s hope that next season will bring an end to this trend.
observer reports:
According to the blog on April 10:
“Today marks the 48th day since the 3rd egg was laid. Chicks normally hatch 34 - 42 days after being laid. It's very possible that these eggs are not viable. We keep watching and wishing the pair the best of luck.”
I observed an adult in nest incubating on April 4th, 6th, and 10th.
The webcam verifies this, and I’ve viewed the webcam when both Jasper and Bea were in the nest together, and a few times when Jasper was on the eggs alone.
Observer reports:
Not much activity at this nest when I’ve visited. The web cam reports that March 28 and March 31 mark the the fifth week for the 3rd and 4th eggs.
Jasper continues to bring fish to the nest and takes over incubation duties while Bea takes a break. Should be getting pretty close to the eggs hatching!
Observer notes: Bea continues to incubate the eggs, which is verified by the web cam and blog, and I am able to get a glimpse of her in the nest when I visit. No major drama this past week!
Bea laid egg #4 on Saturday, Feb. 24th.
She is now incubating two eggs (#3 and #4) On 2/28 an intruder tried to land on the platform. This was later reported on the blog, but I was actually on site when it took place and watched the entire incident which lasted for about an hour. When the intruder tried to land, Bea was in the nest alone and had to fend off the intruder for a short while until Jasper returned and took over. At that point Bea went back to incubating the eggs. It was a very intense situation, as Jasper and the intruder were involved in an aerial chase for close to an hour until Jasper finally prevailed and the intruder flew away. This was very stressful for Bea during this time as the culprit would fly down quite close to the nest with Jasper in constant pursuit.
The pair in nest #2513 was watching on high alert, so I imagine this ordeal was causing them quite a bit of stress too.
According to the Palmetto blog, It’s not clear when Bea arrived, but it was sometime in January.
A male arrived January 26th that was believed to be her mate Jasper from previous years.
Bea laid her first egg February 12th, but did not incubate it and it was lost almost immediately.
This first male turned out not to be Jasper, who actually was confirmed to arrive on February 14th. Now the real Jasper and Bea settled down and began to mate.
Bea laid a second egg February 16. (This egg was undoubtedly from the previous male). This egg was covered over.
Bea laid a third egg on February 21st and it is possible this egg is from Jasper. She immediately incubated this egg and continues to do so.
When I visited the nest today, February 23rd, I observed her sitting down in the nest exhibiting a posture with a flat back. So this matches up with the blog reports. She was in this posture for the 30 minutes I was there, while Jasper was in and out of the nest.
Past Seasons
Show reports, diaries, and photos from:Current 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Activity reports
Photos of this nest
Nesting Diaries