Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Osprey – The Fish Hawk
By: Tom Berg
Did you seen a large bird soaring over a lake, pond or river last summer or fall? It may have been a fish hawk. Actually, fish hawk is just one of its many nicknames. It is also called the river hawk, sea hawk and fish eagle, but its real name is more regal: it is the osprey.
The osprey is a very large bird, with a wingspan of more than five feet. They are brown and white, with dark brown wings and a white breast. Their head is mostly white with a dark brown band running horizontally through their eyes. When flying, ospreys usually soar with their wings bent in an “M” shape, and this helps identify them.
Ospreys are raptors – birds of prey. They are nearly always seen around water because they are almost exclusively fish-eaters. They often fly over the surface of a lake or river and skillfully snatch an unsuspecting fish from the shallows. Although fish in shallow water are particularly vulnerable to ospreys, even schooling fish in deeper water are in danger if they come within three feet of the surface.
When an osprey dives for a fish, it soars down towards the water at great speed, and right before it hits the water it folds its wings back and stretches it feet straight forward with its talons outstretched. Its head is also stretched forward and its eyes are open wide to stay on-target with the submerged fish below.
An interesting fact about ospreys is they have a reversible outer toe which lets them grasp their prey with the talons on two toes in front and two toes behind. Most hawks cannot do this. They also have barbed pads on the bottom of their feet, which when combined with the reversible toe, really helps them get a grip on the slippery fish they catch.
Adult ospreys are extremely successful hunters, with some individuals catching fish on 70% of their dives. Ospreys are indeed one of nature’s greatest fishermen!
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