Bea and Jasper are no longer incubating their three eggs as they have covered them over with sticks and spanish moss. The pair remains on the platform. They have been mating since abandoning their first clutch of eggs. We'll continue watching Bea and Jasper and see what unfolds with the pair.

Bea and Jasper are not incubating their three eggs as normal. The pair has been fending off other ospreys for over a week now which has taken the pair away from their eggs. Yesterday, Bea had another male osprey try and push her off the nest for a few hours until Jasper came returned to the platform.

The last two days, Jasper and Bea have been mating again so we'll have to wait and see what happens on the platform.

Viewer Jo N, noticed that the parents, Bea and Jasper, have not been seen on the nest for two days. I have been working at another location for the last two days and have not had an opportunity to observe the nest. I did check the camera about 5:30pm Wednesday evening and noticed a black headed turkey vulture on the nest. The vulture did not approach the eggs, just stood by them. Bea arrived about 20 minutes later and began incubating the eggs then standing above them.  Bea continued this process on and off the eggs for about 30 minutes.

This morning upon arriving to work, Jasper was incubating the three eggs. There have been two other ospreys attempting to occupy the nest with Bea and Jasper quickly dispatching them.

We'll have to wait and see if the three eggs are viable. Hopefully the pair stays attentive to their eggs as there are about 3 to 4 more weeks for the incubation period.

 

Bea and Jasper have their 3rd egg which was laid Sunday, April 6, 2025. It's possible we could see chicks hatch the first week or second week of May.

Bea and Jasper's 2nd egg has arrived. The egg came either Thursday night or Friday morning.

The red glow in the first photo is from the beacon light atop the tower. The communications tower is located within a quarter mile of the Hilton Head airport.

Bea and Jasper have their first egg of the 2025 season. The egg was laid on April 1 in the afternoon. This is the 44th egg Bea has had since she and Jasper began their stay atop our communications tower back in 2011. Last year, Bea and Jasper's first egg was laid on April 2, 2024.

Welcome to the 2025 Osprey season. Bea and Jasper have returned for their 15th season atop our communications tower on Hilton Head. Jasper returned February 14th and Bea returned around February 22nd. 

The pair has a lot of work to do as there isn't much left of last year's nest. For most of this week the pair has been establishing their right to the platform, fending off crows and turkey vultures that have been residing on the tower for the past several months.

The pair is starting later this year as we have experienced colder weather than usual. Last year the first egg was laid on April 2, 2024, so we may see an egg around the same timeframe.

Bea and Jasper, our osprey pair for the last 14 years, had a successful 2024 season with two of their three chicks growing and eventually fledging the nest. With the two juveniles, AT and HT, this marks the 19th offspring the pair has produced since 2011.

We haven't seen Bea or Jasper in the past few weeks as turkey vultures have been occupying the platform more often since the osprey's time at the nest is finished.

The season began with the pair having another late beginning to their egg laying. Normally the pair has their eggs in March, but the past two seasons the eggs were laid in April. Nonetheless, the pair had a successful season.

We want to thank all of our viewers and posters to our blog for joining us in exploring the fascinating osprey, a magnificent bird that lives along our waters at Hilton Head Island. 

A few more photos from this past season.

With their two juveniles fledging, Bea and Jasper remain at the nest to keep other pairs from taking ownership of the platform. Our pair spent a few days chasing off another osprey couple from the tower. Their two offspring have been roosting in nearby trees or structures in adjacent property from the tower.

With AT and HT fledging, this marks 19 successful hatchlings for Bea and Jasper since they first occupied the nest in 2011.

Now that AT and HT have, fledged Jasper and Bea are tasked with retaining ownership of the nest atop our communications tower. Another osprey pair has been attempting to make the nest their own. Jasper and Bea have been chasing off the squatters.

The first photo is the new male to the left of the nest and the bottom is Bea with one of the new osprey's on top of the camera bracket (shadow).