Category: Uncategorized

With the number of trees (about 9,000!) that were lost on the island due to the hurricane, tropical storm, and tornados of September and October, you would think that a great nest like this would be scooped up quickly, but even though owls, hawks, ospreys and even vultures have been frequent visitors, no one has moved in yet. However, we...

One month ago we were hunkered down, preparing for Hurricane Hermine. The storm arrived, and what we feared was the heavy rains and wind blown debris backing up street drains and causing water to backup and flood in some areas of the island. Public Works folks were out making sure everything was kept clear all night long on Sept 2,...

In the calm before the storm, with Tropical Storm Hermine off the coast of Florida, and then headed our way, we’re trying to make sure that we are ready for repairs to the cameras and their mounts when the storm clears. As you might be able to see in the chart on the right, this particular weather forecast has us...

Over the next 10 days we will design new supports for both cameras, on this tree or a nearby tree. We have leased an 85′ lift for a week – it arrives on Wednesday Aug 31 and we will work as needed through the week and weekend to get things running again. We need your help to finance the project....

The image on the left below is from Oct 4, 2014. Clearly visible are six branches supporting the nest. Not visible is the seventh branch on which the camera is mounted. The image on the right is from June 20, 2016. Notice that there are now only three branches visible, and the fourth still supports Cam 1.Three of the branches that...

So what’s up in the nest? The owls are still in the area, but if last year is any indication, they may not be actually spending any time in the nest now that the two owlets are both confident flyers. Mom was last seen in the nest on Saturday night around 8:00, and we haven’t seen the owls since.   However,...

Owlet 1 left the nest at 8:00 on Saturday night and made it back to the nest about 35 hours later – at 7:15 this morning Owlet 2 was branching(!) and practicing “flying” back to the nest (or as Woody in Toy Story would say, “That wasn’t flying, that was just falling with style!”) when Owlet 1 hopped back on...

We’re not at all sure that it was on purpose, but last night at 8:02 Owlet 1 was branching very high up in a stiff breeze – when it came down at 8:07, it went right by the nest, and we were just a bit worried. Here’s Owlet 2 watching it’s sibling soar by below the nest..      ...

So for those of you who aren’t close enough to come out and experience Skidaway Island for yourself, I thought it might be interesting to see a bit more of the place than is visible through our two cameras. As you know, the Owl Cam is a project of Skidaway Audubon, in collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and...

It’s April 4th, 2016. Last year, the first gretgg was laid last year on January 1, and this year the first egg was laid on January 23. To see the details and a comparison of the two years, go to our education page and click the milestones tab to keep track of this, but here’s a snapshot what may be ahead:...