About Great Horned Owls & Bald Eagles
Raptor Cam Location
The nest on the cam is located on private property in an undisclosed area since some raptors can be quite sensitive to human activity while nesting. The Great Horned Owls visited the nest in the 2022-2023 nesting season without producing any young and had two (2) owlets for the 2023-2024 nesting season.
We're excited to add a second cam on an eagle nest at a different location on Hilton Head Island. Click here for more about the Eagles' nest!
Some of our favorite moments!
12/20/2023 - The Great Horned Owls have been frequently visiting the nests since September.
1/2/2024 - First Great Horned Owl egg is laid at 3:04 pm ET.
1/6/2024 - Second Great Horned Owl egg is laid at 4:16 pm ET.
2/5/2024 - HH5 hatched at 10:09 p.m.
2/8/2024 - HH6 hatched at 3:00 a.m.
3/23/2024 - HH5 branches for the first time leaving the nest at 1:52 pm ET
3/26/2024 - HH6 branches for the first time leaving the nest at 7:52 am ET
4/01/2024 - HH5 and HH6 fledged the nest tree
Great Horned Owls
We have named our Female and Male Great Horned Owls Bayley and Joshua. For more information on the names and to meet the parents, check out our newsletter.
This photo is of the fledged owls on a nearby tree. Check out the nest!
The great horned owl, also known as the tiger owl, or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. They fly about 40 mph and are fearless and aggressive against it's prey.
The growth rate of the GHOs is also very fast compared to humans. The young birds grow at about 4-8 grams an hour and will grow at a rate of 1 inch per week starting from the time they hatch as chicks and continuing as juveniles to adults as long as they are healthy and getting enough food.
Fun facts for your next trivia night:
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They don't really have horns.
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Their neck structure is unique.
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They have excellent vision and hearing.
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They aren't picky eaters.
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They are almost silent in flight.
Bald Eagles
Our NEW BALD EAGLE CAM is live!
The nest on the Eagle cam is located on private property in an undisclosed area. This is believed to be at least the 13th season for this pair of eagles. In 2023-2024 nesting season, the eagles had three eggs with two eaglets fledging.
The bald eagle, which isn’t truly bald, is a bird of prey found in North America, with about half of the bald eagle population living in Alaska.
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Eagles are opportunistic feeders mainly on fish.
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The lifespan of an eagle is 20 years.
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The eagle builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 13 feet deep, 8 ft wide and 1 ton in weight.
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The typical wingspan is between 5 ft 11 in and 7 ft 7 in and mass is normally between 6.6 and 13.9 lb.
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The bald eagle breeds at the age of 4 – 5 years of age. They often return to the area where they were born.
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It is believed that Eagles mate for life; however, if one member of the pair dies or disappears, the survivor will choose a new mate. In addition, after repeated failed breeding attempts it will cause a mate to look for a new mate.
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The female is 25% larger than the male.
In the Hilton Head Island area, the eagles generally come back to the nest in late September or October to begin ‘nestorations’ from the prior season. Sticks are brought in to reinforce the nest structure, and soft nesting material is replenished to provide the protective nest bowl into which eggs will be laid. If there is a successful mating season, eggs are laid in early to mid-December. Normally, one to three eggs are laid and the incubation will take about 35 days on average.
All eyes will be peeled for the first ‘pip’ or breakthrough of the eggshell by the eaglet inside. After the eaglets are hatched, people watching the Eagle Cam can settle in and watch them grow and develop from downy bobble-heads to feisty and magnificent Eaglets, ready to take their first flight into what will be a steep learning curve of survival in the wild.
There are many larger bird nests in the Hilton Head area including eagles, osprey, red tailed and red shouldered hawks, owls, and great blue heron nests to name a few.
About Eaglets:
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The eaglets grow rapidly, adding about a half-pound to a pound of body weight every week until they are 9-10 weeks old.
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At about two weeks, it is possible for them to hold their head up for feeding.
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At about three weeks they are 1 foot high and their feet and beaks are very nearly adult size.
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At three to four weeks old the eaglets are covered in a secondary coat of gray down.
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At four to six weeks, the birds are able to stand, at which time they can begin tearing up their own food.
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At three to six weeks, black juvenile feathers will begin to grow. While downy feathers are excellent insulators, they are useless and must be replaced with juvenile feathers before an eaglet can take its first flight, some 10 to 14 weeks after hatching.
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At about six weeks, the eaglets are very nearly as large as their parents.
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At about eight weeks, the appetites of the eaglets are at their greatest. The parents will hunt almost continuously to feed them, meanwhile, at the nest, the eaglets are beginning to stretch their wings in response to gusts of wind and they may even hover for short periods. The eaglets grow stronger.
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At nine to ten weeks, they begin branching, this is a precursor to fledging.
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Around ten to fourteen weeks, the eaglets will fledge, or fly away from, the nest.
Once the eaglets have fledged they may remain around the nest for four or five weeks, taking short flights while their primary feathers grow and strengthen. Their parents will still provide all of their food. The juvenile fledglings, with the exception of their color, look similar to their parents but are nothing like them in behavior. The juveniles now have to learn to hunt, and they only have what’s left of summer to learn. After that, they’re on their own. The first winter is the most dangerous and difficult part of an eagle’s life.
