Hilton Head osprey nest removed by construction. What happened to the nesting family?
Hilton Head bird watchers and residents along Folly Field Road were upset to learn an Osprey nest that had been in the area since at least 2019 was removed last week, as part of the early stages of a large resort development.
The nesting pair, which watchers named Ozzie and Harriet, have been spotted regularly visiting the nest since March 2019, according to the Osprey Watch website’s log of the nest’s history.
Carol Clemens, an island resident who helps monitor several osprey nests in the Hilton Head area, said the nest’s most recent chick fledged on July 10. Within two days, the tree containing the nest was removed by developers who are clearing the area for a future complex of seven resort buildings. The project has been in the works since 2017, when developer HH Island Acquisition Partners LLC first bought the area.
The applicant seeking permits for the project now is called Progress Carolina LLC, assistant community development director Missy Luick said.
Developers were planning to remove the tree as early as 2021, calling it “very unsafe” and citing a potential “danger to residents.” Clemens said town staff stepped in twice prior to prevent the tree’s removal, since the developer was attempting to cut it down too close to osprey nesting season. The birds are migratory and protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
However, since this year’s hatchling had left the nest and rendered it “inactive,” the tree was legal to remove.
The family is still in the area despite the nest’s removal, Clemens said.
“(The osprey family) have come back to that area crying because technically, when they fledge, they do still return to the nesting area,” Clemens said.
Future replacement plans
Although the nest was removed, town staff requested the builders designate a location for a future nesting platform that could serve as a new place for the osprey pair to build a new home.
The developers submitted a nest monitoring plan on May 4 this year, according to development services manager Brian Eber, and consulted with state and federal wildlife authorities.
Eber said developers hired biologist Lori Duncan of D&D West, a Charleston firm that offers consultation on projects that could impact sensitive species and environments, to confirm the nest wasn’t still housing a hatchling before the tree was removed.
The new nesting platform will be built after construction in the area is complete, Eber said, citing risks to the birds safety if nesting in an active construction zone.
Clemens, though, said she’d hoped for the platform to be up by early January 2024. Ospreys typically return for nesting around that time of year, she said.
The town has only issued a demolition permit to Progress Carolina for the project, Eber said. The building permit has yet to be issued due to the proposed structures not meeting town standards.
Eber couldn’t immediately comment on the specific standards the buildings failed to meet, but noted they do fall under the town’s max height requirement.
