Nickname
Wexford
Coordinates
(32.1679, -80.7591)
Substrate
Live Tree
Description
If you are facing the house at 10 Cambridge Circle, the nest is in a large pine tree on the right (east) toward the water.
Followers
None
Monitoring groups
What to look for
a
Adult Arrival
Look for 2 adults on the nest. The adult pair will show pair bonding behaviors such as vocalizations, aerial sky dances, and the male feeding the female fish. You may see the pair copulating, which typically begins 14 days before laying eggs.b
Incubation Initiation
Females will lay 1 - 4 eggs at a rate of one egg every 1 - 2 days. After laying, incubation starts. Look for adults taking turns sitting low in the nest incubating eggs. The incubation period can last 35 - 43 days.c
Clutch Hatching
Chicks hatch ~39 days after incubation begins. Look for adults bringing food to the nest and making "head bows" into the center. Chicks typically can't be seen until they are 2 - 3 weeks old, so feeding behavior is the only way to know chicks are there.d
Nestling Count
Around 4 weeks after hatching, look for the heads of chicks to show over the rim of the nest, particularly when adults bring food to the nest. Other times they lie flat and are harder to see. Count the number of chicks in the nest before they learn to flye
Fledgling Count
Chicks begin flying around 7 - 8 weeks old, and are still fed by the adults. Count the number of chicks who have successfully fledged the nest and are observed flying.f
Chick Last Observed
4 - 10 weeks after fledging, chicks begin leaving the nest area to migrate south, once they have learned to fly and feed themselves. Record the date that the last chick left the nest.x
Nest Failure
Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.Review All Observations
| 2018 - CarolC | |
|---|---|
| aAdult Arrival | |
| aOccupied | Yes |
| aActive | |
| bEgg Laying | |
| bIncubation Initiation | |
| cClutch Hatching | 4/25/18 |
| dNestlings | 2 |
| eFledglings | |
| eFirst Chick Fledging | |
| fChicks Last Observed | |
| xNest Failure | |
| xReason For Nest Failure |
Select Seasons
Show reports, diaries, and photos from:Current 2019 2018
Activity reports
2018 Nest Activity Report by CarolC
| Adult arrival | Nestlings | 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nest Occupied | Yes | Fledglings | |
| Nest Active | First chick fledging | ||
| Egg laying | Chicks last observed | ||
| Incubation initiation | Nest failure | ||
| Clutch hatching | 04/25/2018 | Reason for nest failure |
Photos of this nest
Nesting Diaries
04/24/2019 by CarolC
Brady H reports: Wexford Plantation nest Great Horned Owls: The original Osprey nest is completely destroyed/gone. At least one Juvenile is still around the original tree with one or more of the Adults. He is now flying but has not left the nesting area as of this date. Originally there were two young Owls and both could still be alive but only one has been spotted with one Adult nesting in the tree.
03/26/2019 by CarolC
Brady H reports on the owls who have taken over this osprey nest:
As of yesterday only one Owlet was still in the tree. I check around the ground and bushes and small tree at the base of the nesting tree but saw nothing. The only dilemma is the base of the nesting tree is fairly close to the edge of the harbor waters in Wexford and the owlet could have ended up in the water. Hopefully, not!
Anyway, it is nature and it is what it is.
03/24/2019 by CarolC
Brady H reports on the Owl nest in the Osprey nest: I went by today to check the nest and it has fallen. It is hanging on some limbs but is not functional. I at first could not find any Owlets and I feared they may have fallen to the ground. But finally I saw them sitting on a limb 10 feet or so from the nest huddled together.
It appears the Osprey nest was not built sufficient or well enough to hold the size of the two Owlets.
The two Owlets appear probably 2/3rd grown so they still have several weeks before they will be able to fly. I will check more often now but they will unfortunately have to survive by just having a limb to sit, sleep and eat from.
Maybe this is not unusual but to me it seems very precarious.
03/20/2019 by CarolC
Brady H reports: The Great Horn Owls have chicks.Yesterday, I saw one of the adult Owls at the nest about 5:30 pm and two chicks which looked like two big fur balls with wings! They look like they are a few weeks old but don't appear to have actual feathers yet. It is the first time I have seen them though they must have been in the nest for some time but I just haven't been able to see them or they have not been standing up in the nest. Really lot of fun to see them and the adults!
03/13/2019 by CarolC
Brady H reports: The Osprey nest taken over by Great Horn Owl is still being set by the Owl. All is normal
02/22/2019 by CarolC
Observer Brady H reported: I visited nest site today. Well, I have bad news and some really good news with this next.
Bad news: No evidence of any Osprey in the area or on the nest.
Good news: There appears to be a Great Horned Owl setting the nest and has taken over the nest!!! It was difficult to see the bird due to the way the bird was sitting the nest. However, the Owl feather horns were very evident and size was correct. So I am 90% comfortable it was a Great Horn Owl. Also, reading very quickly about them it said they can start setting a nest as early as January in SC.
I plan to continue monitoring the nest. I will keep you abreast of it's progress if you like.
I will look around to see if the Osprey have made a nest within the Plantation.
09/04/2018 by CarolC
Lamar and Pat report: We have been out of the country for 3 weeks. Just returned. I guess we missed the chicks, how many and did they eventually take flight.
Note from Carol C: It is most likely that there were 1 or 2 chicks as reported earlier (July 7) but we are unsure if and when they fledged. However, from all the behavioral observations and indications that the adults were feeding chicks, it seems safe to say that there were chicks.
08/13/2018 by CarolC
Lamar and Pat report: We still haven’t seen the chicks. Hear them a lot. Unless they are fully grown and they are flying without adults, they have not flown. We have never seen more than the two adults. Wonders if the chicks only fly when the parents aren’t visible.
07/27/2018 by CarolC
Lamar and Pat report; Still no sign of chicks flying. One adult just flew in with a fish to feed the chicks. Lots of chirping, though
07/07/2018 by CarolC
observer reports: I now hear different kinds of chirping---like chicks, I hope. Father still spends most of the time sitting on his perch in a nearby tree. Mother stays in the nest and does a lot of chirping. I might have seen one or two chicks heads, but not sure. Still no flight.
06/14/2018 by CarolC
observer reports: Adult male still spends a lot of time sitting on his perch in a nearby tree and the adult female spends a lot of time chirping away in the nest. Still no signs of the little ones. I thought they would be venturing out of the nest by now.
06/07/2018 by CarolC
Observer reports: The male is still sitting on his perch and chirping away. Female goes to nest, looks like she is still feeding them. No sign of chicks yet, but they must be in the nest based on the adult male and female activities. Sometimes the male will go over the nest, hover and flap his wings, like he is trying to show the chicks how they can fly. Still watching, but really nothing to report yet.
05/30/2018 by CarolC
Male osprey is spending more and more time on his perch. Lot of chirping, but no chicks flying yet.
05/21/2018 by CarolC
observer reports that the adults continue to fly in and out of the nest. There is a lot of chirping, but no sign of the chicks yet.
05/15/2018 by CarolC
observer reports: Still no sign of the chicks, but they are very vocal when one of adults flies in with food.
05/04/2018 by CarolC
observer reports: Still monitoring. Adult male and female continue to hunt. Sometimes one of them will sit on a nearby branch.
Yesterday afternoon, there was a crow sitting on a branch in a nearby tree, but finally, when no activity, flew away. No sign of chicks as of yet.
04/29/2018 by CarolC
observer reports: We see the adult flying back and forth to hunt for food. When the adult returns to the nest, the “chicks” chirp loudly, but they are totally quiet otherwise. We don’t know how old they are or if the nest is new this year or if it was there last year. We sit out on our screened in porch and back deck quite a bit, but we just started hearing them chirp.
04/28/2018 by CarolC
This nest was not part of the project until April 28 when it was reported to us. So, we cannot provide the data on adult arrival, incubation, etc. The date of April 25th for hatching is a pure guess based on the fact that on April 28 they heard chirping.