feathered friday - osprey

By Rachel Ames

This week’s featured bird is the Osprey. The Osprey is found in many parts of the world. In North America, it breeds in the northern US and Canada and over-winters in Central and South America. There are also populations that breed in Europe and the Eurasian continent all the way to Japan that then over-winter in India and the southern half of the African continent. Regardless of where they live, Ospreys eat fish – fresh water and saltwater fish. They are excellent hunters and are often seen hovering over the water before diving in feet first. While they can dive from great distances, they typically only go about 3’ into the water so they prefer shallow water bodies. Once they catch a fish, they turn it so they can fly to a safe place to eat it. When migrating, they may even fly with a fish for a rest-stop snack. Females are slightly larger than males and tend to have more brown on their chests. Adults have yellow eyes. Juveniles also tend to have more brown on their chests and have orange or red eyes. These adaptable birds were at the point of extinction in the 1950’s and 1960’s due to the use of DDT. Once DDT was banned and with the help of safe nesting platforms, populations rebounded and Ospreys are thriving once again.

The dive.

The catch.

The getaway.

Off to a safe place to eat.

Juvenile Osprey with its catch.