Shortly before dusk fell over Hilton Head Island, a palm-sized egg, in a coveted nest that’s perched high on a pine tree, cracked.
Little by little, hour by hour, new fissures riddled the dull-white sphere. For those who stayed alert, they saw it in real-time from the comfort of their own homes. Fastened near the nest is a Raptor CAM that is monitored by the Hilton Head Island Land Trust. Over the years, it’s drawn in more than 1.3 million views from all over the world. Monday’s affair, via the live stream, wasn’t the one to miss.
By about 10 p.m. Monday, the hatchling emerged from its shell that it’d called home for the past 34 days . And an hour later, the land trust let the world know.
“We have our first owlet!” its Facebook post read . “(The mamma) is seen here eating the spent eggshell to help replace calcium.”
Right behind what the nonprofit is calling HH5, is another egg that’s already in the hatching process, Land Trust Board Member Robin Storey said Tuesday morning. Storey’s hopeful that the arrival of HH6 will be within the next 24 hours.