As quickly as the first egg appeared, we may have already lost it. Bea did not incubate the egg most of this morning and apparently did not do so last night either.  As of this post she is sitting on the egg, but most likely it is too late. We will have to wait and see. 

 

Not sure what is happening with the first egg. Bea has not been incubating it for most of the day. It is possible the egg is not viable. Currently a crow is checking out the egg.

We have our first egg of the 2018 season. Longtime viewer, Beth, noticed the egg last night about 6:47. I have to admit I didn’t think the pair would have an egg this early since Jasper arrived only less than three weeks ago.

In the past eight years Bea has laid her first egg on the following dates:

12 Feb
17 Feb
16 Feb
2 Mar
7 Mar
13 Mar
24 Mar
25 Mar

Bea seems a bit unsettled this morning as she flew off and left the egg momentarily unattended until Jasper flew to the platform. 

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.