Tomorrow is the official start of spring! This winter is on record as the coldest in a very long time as well as the winter with the longest sustained cold. And, of course, who can forget the snow day; February 13, 2010.
The Lowcountry Zoo is a very busy place to be in the spring. In the Cypress Aviary, we have between 12 and 15 black-crowned night heron chicks that will fledge shortly. In addition, there are at least two cattle egret nests "under construction".
Our red-tailed hawks are sitting on two eggs and our female bald eagle is also sitting on an egg! From what I have heard, this is the first time she has produced an egg. The viability of the eagle and hawk eggs is not known. Should they be fertile, they will be allowed to hatch and the parents will care for them for a few weeks. Then, the young will be sent to The South Carolina Raptor Center to be hacked. Hacking is the process of releasing healthy young birds into the wild.
Bald Eagles were federally endangered until the summer of 2007. Prior to the population return, hacking was used extensively in the wild to help in the repopulation. Captive-born eaglets are placed with captive surrogates or wild pairs that resulted in an unsuccessful clutch. This process allows for as little human involvement as possible which can result in imprinted birds. Imprinted birds are not candidates for release.
Due to the precarious nature of captive nesting we are asking our visitors to be respectful of the birds and their privacy.
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