2021 Recap:

The 2021 Osprey season opened with Bea and Jasper returning for their 11th year atop our communications tower on Hilton Head Island. The pair bore three eggs with three hatchlings: TT, JW, and LT. LT lived for two weeks. The remaining chicks thrived on the nest with Jasper bringing an abundance of flounder for his young. The chicks fledged in 65 and 58 days of their hatching. 

We do not band the juveniles and most likely the young fly south for the winter. Hilton Head does have osprey during the winter months, but we have no way of knowing whether these birds are passing through or staying throughout the year.

We hope to see the pair, Bea and Jasper, back next year as they have been produced 16 chicks since their time at our island nesting grounds. We appreciate all of our viewers comments. We hope to get back to normalcy in regards to the blog and keeping everyone up-to-date with the local osprey life at our nest.

Please have a safe 2021 and we hope to have you back next year.  

Thanks from the moderator!!       :)

 

TT and JW faired well with Tropical Storm Elsa last night. We were a bit concerned as only one was on the nest this morning when we checked the camera, but thankfully both juveniles appeared on the tower a little later on. Bea and Jasper are also doing fine.

Both juvenile ospreys, TT and JW, have fledged - taking their first flight. JW was the first to go which occurred on June 27th. It took TT, the oldest chick by a day, about one week longer. The communications tower located at our Hilton Head office is 100 feet tall, so taking the first flight is no easy task. JW fledged in 58 days and TT fledged in 65 days. The juveniles will stay dependent on their parents for food until they learn to fish for themselves.

TT and JW are the 15th and 16th successful juveniles that Bea and Jasper have produced since their arrival at our tower in 2011.  The juveniles will not reach maturity until age 3. As the juveniles mature their eye color will change to yellow and their buff-tipped feathers on their back will change to brown.

Photo of TT (foreground) and JW (background)

 

The chicks TT and JW are growing up fast due to Jasper bringing in fish such as the flounder in the above picture. Juvenile osprey's normally fledge within 7 - 8 weeks from hatching. That timeframe will be mid to late June.

The two chicks, TT and JW, are doing quite well. Both are nice and plump and are starting to loose their darker down and are beginning to grow their pin feathers. Pin feathers or otherwise known as "blood feathers" is a developing feather on a bird. The feather is rolled and protected in a tube-like shaft that contains blood vessels, which nourish the feather's growth. 

The top two photos have JW on the left and TT on the right. 

The bottom photo is a close-up of TT. You can see the development of the feathers. In the close-up of TT you will notice the deep red eye color. As the osprey's grow into juveniles the eye color will change to an orange-yellow to yellow once they become adults.

The chicks TT and JW are doing well and have added much weight since their last photos, especially TT. TT has been a bit aggressive towards JW, but in the last few days that has eased up a bit which we hope that trend continues. The top photo has TT on the top and JW towards the bottom. The bottom photo is a close-up of JW.

It appears Bea and Jasper have lost their youngest hatchling, LT. Upon leaving work yesterday the chick appeared to be doing well. The loss of the one will give the two remaining chicks a better chance of survival.

 We now have three chicks in the nest: TT, JW and LT. 

We possibly have a pip in an egg. If a chick hatches today would mark 39 days since it was first laid.

Osprey chicks use an egg tooth on the upper beak to help break the inner shell which they repeatedly tap to free themselves.

Bea and Jasper continue to incubate their three eggs. Today marks the 20th day since the first egg was laid. We could see a chick around April 24th or so. 

 It appears the pair, Bea and Jasper, will have three eggs this season. The third egg was laid March 24th. Ospreys usually lay eggs 1 - 3 days apart. The chicks will hatch in the order the eggs were laid.

Along with the eggs is a photo of Jasper incubating the clutch. Jasper will continue to share the task of incubating the eggs until the chicks hatch, when he will then provide fish for his family.

 We now have three eggs.

Bean and Jasper have their second egg as of Monday morning, March 22nd.

 

 We have our first egg of the 2021 season. We believe Bea laid the egg this morning. 

Finally the pair has their act together and started their next clutch. Bea and Jasper haven't started this late since 2013 when their first egg was laid on March 13th. Prior to that they had late dates of March 24th in 2012 and March 25th in 2011.

Bea is spending more time on the nest, but still no egg as of today. The pair is behind schedule laying a clutch eggs compared to previous years. Mating continues and Jasper has been providing Bea with fish. As soon as we see an egg we will post the information.

 Not much is going on at the nest. Jasper has been bringing Bea a variety of fish. The nest itself still needs a bit of work, but should work just fine when Bea is ready to lay her clutch of eggs.

 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.  Below is a photo of Bea and then of the pair, Bea and Jasper.

We are still trying to confirm if the female osprey is Bea. Some of the familiar markings are there. but not all.
 

 A female osprey appeared on the platform Monday, February 8 at 8:10 a.m. We have yet to confirm if it is Bea. Jasper has attempted mating so for that reason we are thinking it must be Bea, but we are trying to obtain close-ups of her to help identify whether or not it is Bea.

 Welcome to our 2021 Osprey season

We open our blog with viewer Sharon spotting an osprey on the nest this past Saturday, January 30th. Upon viewing the nest today the osprey is Jasper, the male for the past 10 seasons.

We await his mate, Bea, to arrive as this will be her 11th season on the nest with Jasper. Last year the pair had two chicks with only one surviving - SZ.

The nest is located about mid-island and has several shallow creeks nearby where the pair catches flounder and various other fish for themselves and their chicks. We hope 2021 brings the nest healthy chicks and also sees a brighter year for us all.