We finally obtained photos that we can match to previous years and can announce that Jasper is back. He arrived January 26th, but we weren't sure it was him, due to his back facing the camera.

The pair has been quite busy this morning restoring the nest by bringing in sticks and spanish moss. A few attempts at mating has taken place now that Jasper's submissive posturing has lessened. Below are a few pics from this morning showing their work.

We still have yet to confirm that the male osprey on the nest is definitely Jasper. But Bea's acceptance of him on the platform makes us believe it may be him. The photos we have taken are not good enough yet to match up to previous seasons. The male has attempted to mate, but Bea has shrugged off his advances. His back is normally to her so they may still be in courtship mode.

The male osprey we spotted a few days back has returned. Unfortunately, we can't obtain a good enough photo to compare to previous photographs of Jasper. Bea hasn't been too aggressive towards the male, but continues to force him away from the platform. If it is Jasper, maybe a fish will seal the deal. :)

We are not positive if Jasper has returned, but another osprey landing on the nest at 10:08 this morning then quickly departed. We'll be observing the tower for any osprey other than Bea and will report back as soon as we can obtain photos to check out markings, etc.

Welcome to the 2018 Season

Welcome to Palmetto Electric’s 2018 Osprey Cam season! With the arrival of Bea on January 16^th, we are anticipating a successful breeding season. As we await Jasper’s return, this will be the pairs eighth season and marks our eleventh season broadcasting our nest from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

The last two years Bea and Jasper lost a total of seven eggs and one chick. The nest’s interior was not built up, therefore; the chick and eggs fell through the fencing. On October 18, 2017, a crew installed construction cloth, which is a wire grid that is welded together at each cross section. The cloth abuts directly beneath the fencing. This should prevent any of the previous year’s mishaps and assist with fortifying the platform.

We thank you for joining us for another osprey season at Palmetto Electric and we look forward to seeing fledging ospreys.

Below is a photo of Bea that was taken this morning.

Osprey Nest Update....

We have completed the job of securing a protective layer underneath the platform to keep eggs and chicks from falling through the nest, while not disturbing the existing nesting material for future osprey seasons. The new layer is flush against the existing fencing so no gaps exist and is secured every few inches.

Palmetto Electric is in the process of reaching out to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, SCDNR, to discuss ways to improve the nesting platform. These discussions will include improvements and a timeline to implement changes that will benefit the ospreys.

With Palmetto's support of the osprey program, we will cover the cost of any improvements. As soon as we have an approved plan, we will post it here.

Yes, it appears that we lost the 4th & 5th eggs. Bea and Jasper never built up the interior base of the nest except with Spanish Moss.  With Bea and Jasper incubating the eggs with no base of twigs, limbs, etc. to keep the nest together the eggs eventually they fell through the nest.

The fourth egg has been pushed down below the Spanish Moss and Bea and Jasper seem to be only focused on the fifth egg. The fourth egg must not be viable as they only seem concerned with the last egg. The arrow is pointing to the little portion of the fourth egg that is still visible.

We are crossing our fingers for the last egg to produce a chick.
 

Bea has laid another egg, totaling 5 at this point. The first three eggs fell through the thin base of the nest. Five eggs is a first for us since we have had the camera since 2007.