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). 

HT has fledged. As of 6:30am this morning, we no longer have any juvenile osprey on our communications tower. Bea and Jasper have had another successful year rearing their chicks.

Jasper brought HT a small fish around noon to eat then flew off, leaving HT to wanting more fish. Both parents have been encouraging HT by flying past him and sitting on to of the camera bracket and other structures on the tower.

We believe the juvenile, HT, fledged this morning a little before 10am. The lone juvenile watched its sibling fly around the tower. A little envious. Bea and Jasper have been encouraging the two juveniles to take flight by flying past the nest for several days or hovering over top the tower.

It shouldn't be long for the second osprey to join its sibling.

Update: Friday, 6:38am - Correction, it is AT that has fledged. HT is still on the nest. Another female osprey along with her mate tried to get HT removed from the nest, but he didn't budge. Maybe HT with muster up his courage and take his first flight soon.

This week will begin the juveniles seventh week from hatching. It looks promising that the two will fledge and take their first flights soon. Last week we noticed Jasper fly in and take the fish that Bea was feeding their offspring, most likely encouraging AT and HT to take flight.

Notice the semi-transparent lens in the second to last photo. This is the nictitating membrane which keeps their eye moist and clean and they use it while diving into water to catch fish.

It's been 6 weeks and three day since the first chick, AT, hatched and exactly six weeks for HT. The juveniles have been developing skills for flying by stretching and flapping their wings. Juveniles usually take their first flight seven to eight weeks after hatching. We haven't seen either of the juveniles hop and hover over the nest yet, but that may come soon.

Jasper has done a great job providing fish this year as well as assist Bea with fending off crows that been about the nest all season. The two juveniles often mimic Bea with tidying the nest and stretching their wings when a crow is too close.

Our host provider for the osprey nest corrected the website page problem. You can view the nest again at https://www.palmetto.coop/osprey-habitats.