Bea and Jasper have their first egg for the 2022 season. Bea either laid the egg last night or early this morning. Either way she almost beat the March 25th date for a late arrival of laying her first egg of the season, which she had done in 2011.
As soon as the sun comes up we hope to post a few photos.
As of March 21, 2022 at 7:46am the pair, Bea and Jasper, still have not produced any eggs. Back in 2011, the first year the pair arrived at our communications tower, the pairs first egg was laid March 25th. At this rate they may surpass that date.
Keep your fingers crossed that they start their clutch soon.
The pair, Bea and Jasper, have been working on rebuilding their nesting site. Below are photos from earlier this month and with a shot from today so you can see their work. The nest bowl is a little closer to the side than what I was wishing for, but they know best. Maybe in March we will see a clutch of eggs.
With Bea and Jasper's return to the communication tower we hope to see some nest building activity take place. Only about two new sticks have been placed on the platform, so the pair needs to kick it into high gear to have a proper nest for their impending clutch. Maybe the cool temperatures is hampering their search efforts for nesting material.
Welcome to our 2022 Osprey Season at Palmetto Electric
The osprey pair, Bea and Jasper, have returned for their 12th season. The pair has produced 16 offspring since their tenure at this site. Our nesting site is located about mid island and is situated around several water ways providing Jasper a multitude of options to feed his family. We welcome our viewers comments and anticipate a season with new chicks to watch grow.
The red glow on the birds is from the beacon light atop our communications tower.
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!! :)
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)
