Johns Island Conservancy

A second chick has been confirmed in the nest at Legare Farms.

 

We first noticed the pair brooding on some eggs on March 22.   By May 7, the hen was sitting up and appeared to be shading new born chicks.   Observing from the ground we couldn’t see into the nest to confirm the newborn chicks which weight about 2oz when first hatched.   The platform is about 50 ft up on the pole erected by Berkeley Electric.    

 

But by May 16, one chick had grown enough to poked its head up and we got the first photo from the ground with a 500mm lens (see previous post).   On June 2 we got a picture of the second chick.   By June 13 the chicks, and mother, were very actively feeding as seen in the stop action slide show below.   The chicks have also begun to develop from their brownish gray head plumage to the distinctive Osprey white head cap and cheeks.   One of the parents is constantly hunting while the other is feeding the latest catch to the chicks who take turns.

 

This timeline is consistent with published data  about Ospreys (All About Birds and Wikipedia) who incubate their eggs for about 5 weeks before hatching.   The chicks then take about 8 weeks to fledge; learning to fly and leaving the nest. We expect to see these chicks very active in early to mid July as the test their wings. Hopefully we will be lucky enough to catch a first flight!