We have our first egg of the season that was laid today, February 6th at 7:34 am.

Welcome to Palmetto Electric's 2020 Osprey Season

Bea and Jasper have returned for their 10th season at our platform on Hilton Head Island, SC. The osprey's were both spotted on the nest January 9th.  The nest is located near Broad Creek and many smaller shallow creeks which provides an abundance of food for the ospreys. Jasper often brings in flounder that would droop over a plate. We'd love to know his fishing spot.

Last year the pair had two chicks, AG and HA, that fledged in the early weeks of July. The last two chicks brings the scorecard to 14 fledglings the pair has produced in 9 years. We want to thank everyone for joining us in watching Bea and Jasper and their prospective osprey chicks.

Bea and Jasper are providing fish for the two juveniles, AG and HA. The ospreys will most likely remain on the nest until July to August.

Below are a few photos that we haven't posted before. 

AG has finally fledged on Thursday, May 23rd.

HA has fledged this morning, but we have yet to see AG, the oldest chick, leave the nest. It could be any hour or day for AG as the juvenile has frequently been hovering above the nest as HA has done.

We anticipate HA, the younger juvenile, to fledge first. HA has been more aggressive with mastering his flying skills than AG. HA has often been seen floating above the platform about 4 to 5 feet.

The juvenile ospreys turn seven weeks old and they have been exercising their wings, strengthening their muscles as we await seeing them fledge this week or the next. 

Bea and Jasper have not had a successful clutch in three years and we are excited for AG and HA to soon take their first flight.

The two siblings, AG and HA, have transformed tremendously in the last week. The first photo is of AG on April 23rd. The next several photos are of HA from this morning,as AG wouldn't keep still as he/she was preening. 

You can see how much the young ospreys have grown within one week's time frame. This week marks their 6th week since hatching. 

AG left, HA right

The chicks, AG and HA, are doing well and are growing like weeds. Occasionally, another osprey flies about the nest causing a temporary disturbance, but overall the osprey family is having a good season.

This week will mark the fifth week since the chicks hatched - AG on March 21st and HA on March 23rd. The chicks will fledge (taking their first flight) when they are about 7 to 8 weeks old. For at least a few weeks after fledging, the juvenile ospreys will return to the nest to be fed by their parents.

The chicks, AG and HA, hatched 18 and 16 days ago, respectively. They are becoming quite mobile and as of today are moving small sticks and clumps of spanish moss about the nest. With the chicks hatching close together and the abundance of fish that Jasper is bringing to his family there hasn't been too much aggression between the siblings. 

The chick's down is being replaced by black, wooly feathers and their legs are a greyish blue. It won't be long until their pin feathers come in and they will begin to resemble their parent's plumage.

Afternoon snack... Still no sign of a pip on the third egg.
HA is to the left, AG on the right.

Today marks the 41st day since the third egg was laid. We haven't noticed any sign of a pip in the egg shell and at this stage in the game, it may be best if the third chick doesn't hatch as it will be so far behind in development compared to the other two chicks and likely wouldn't survive. 

Sibling rivalry with ospreys can be quite severe with older chicks being more aggressive when it comes to surviving. The first born tends to give rise to the strongest and biggest of the brood.

The second chick, HA, hatched Saturday marking 38 days from being laid to hatching. If the third chick follows suit with its sibling's, then it should hatch today - 38 days. 

The red glow in the first photo is from the communication tower beacon.

We have our first chick of 2019. The chick, which is named AG, hatched Thursday evening. AG hatched within 38 days. 

We're eager for the other two chicks to follow suit. 

Update: The first chick is still pecking its way out of its shell.

The first chick is in the process of hatching. As we were observing the nest a few minutes ago, we noticed that Bea seemed a bit anxious and moving hurriedly over the eggs. Upon zooming the camera in for a closer look, we noticed a pip, a small puncture on the surface of the egg. This hole is an indication the first chick is working to break free of its shell.

Today marks the 35th day since the first egg was laid so we are expecting the chicks to emerge from their shells in the coming days.

We are also trying to correct the bandwidth issue with our camera, so thank you for your patience as we attempt to resolve the matter.

Bea

The pair, Bea and Jasper, continue to incubate the three eggs. Today marks the 30th day since the first egg was laid so we anticipate seeing the pair's first chick hatch in the next week.

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

Not much excitement going on at the nest. Bea and Jasper are taking turns incubating the three eggs. The first egg was laid 18 days ago so we are about half way there until the first chick hatches, which should be the week after St. Patrick's Day.

Bea and Jasper now have 3 eggs.

Welcome to Palmetto Electric's 2019 Osprey Season. 

Our cam overlooks the nest on top of our 100’ communications tower. The resident osprey pair, Bea and Jasper, have returned for their ninth season. Bea returned to the communications tower on January 10^th and Jasper arrived on January 28^th. The first egg was laid February 11^th and the second egg was laid February 13^th. For those of you that have been following us you’ll remember that the last three years Bea and Jasper’s nest has failed. How many eggs will she have? How many chicks will fledge? We are eager for a successful season and to see juvenile ospreys take flight. 

Currently, our cam refresh rate is extremely slow (5 minutes) due to recent equipment added to our network that has consumed bandwidth. We anticipate to have that corrected in the near future. 

Thank you for joining us for another season and for taking part in our Osprey Blog.

Below is a close-up of Jasper, the two eggs, and Bea incubating the eggs.

Today is the first day that either Bea or Jasper has not incubated the overdue eggs. The pair continued incubation for over a month after the hatching timeframe. The chicks should have hatched the first full week of April. We believe that the eggs weren't fertile. 

The pair should remain on the platform to retain ownership of the site throughout the summer.

Unfortunately for the pair, Bea and Jasper, they will not have any chicks to raise this summer. The chicks should have hatched the first full week of April. Today marks the 59th day since the 3rd egg was laid and the 54th day for the 4th egg. This is a first for the pair to not have any chicks hatch. The last two years the chicks and eggs fell through the nest leaving the pair with no offspring. As you may recall the first and second egg were from a different male.

So why didn't the eggs hatch? Osprey eggs fail due to it either being infertile or nonviable. Infertile eggs occur when the ovum (egg) is not fertilized before it begins its journey down the female's oviduct. Ospreys copulate frequently before and during egg laying, which helps assure that sperm is present at the right time (when the ovum arrives). Incomplete, poorly timed, or insufficient copulations can result in unfertilized eggs.

A nonviable egg occurs when an embryo fails to develop properly and dies. This can happen for many reasons:

•  Insufficient incubation. Eggs must be kept at a proper temperature and turned often. Temperature is vital for development to begin. Eggs must be exposed to temperatures between 99 and 104 degrees°F. Turning eggs prevents the developing embryo from sticking to the side of the egg and provides fresh nutrients for proper development.
• A cracked shell. If the egg shell is pierced or cracked before the embryo is fully developed, it will die. This can be from the egg being stepped on or jostled to vigorously.
• Bacteria or chemical contamination. Contaminants can make their way into an egg and impede or kill the embyro. 

Bea and Jasper will likely cover the eggs where they will break apart and decompose. We are not sure how long the pair will continue to incubate the eggs. After so many years of successful osprey seasons, it's hard to believe we are in our third consecutive year with no juvenile ospreys to see fledge. It is our conclusion that the eggs failed due to infertility.

Today marks the 48th day since the 3rd egg was laid. Chicks normally hatch 34 - 42 days after being laid. It's very possible that these eggs are not viable. We keep watching and wishing the pair the best of luck.

Our cam is back up. Thank you for your patience. :)

https://www.palmetto.coop/osprey-habitats/
 

We were just informed that our website was moved to new servers last night, so the osprey cam is down until we are given the new server credentials to send the osprey images. Hope to have it back up soon.