Egg-cellent news: Beloved Hilton Head eagles are back on the big screen
After a summer away from the nest, the eagles have landed again.
Last winter, people across the island and world tuned in to watch eagles George and Gracie on the Hilton Head Island Land Trust’s eagle webcam. The mated pair hatched and raised two eaglets in the nest and spent much of the summer ensuring their offspring, known simply as E1 and E2, were prepared for adulthood. Now they’re back to do it all again.
Like many vacationers, they returned to find that their landscaping had grown a little out of control. Gracie and George, after months away from the nest, have returned to give it a “nest-oration.” Grass and other small seedlings had taken root in the pine needles and sticks that make up the nest.
Mated pairs of eagles return to the same nest year after year, and often need to fix it before it’s suitable for any eggs or eaglets. George came in late August and got to work pulling up the grass that had popped up. The couple then began brining in sticks to build the edges of the nest back, Robin Storey, president of the land trust, said.
“They came in and got right to work,” Storey said.
Last season, Gracie laid her eggs in January, quite late in the season, Storey said. It’s very possible there will be eggs and eaglets earlier this season.
This will be at least the 14th nesting season for the couple, and their second on the big screen. Last year was the first year the land trust had eaglets successfully fledge, or leave the nest, on their web cam.
After Gracie lays the eggs, the couple will incubate the eggs for around 35 days until they hatch. The family will then live in the nest for around 10 weeks until the eaglets fledge and leave the nest.
