The Ospreys Have Returned!

 Birding Tip #1: Look Up!  It's a simple tip but it really works.

I figured today would be just another walk with my dogs...although I usually have my eyes and ears open for birds.  I had only just begun when I saw an osprey silently gliding along the water's edge close by, occasionally obscured by the trees.  I kept my eyes on him or her (telling the difference between male and female ospreys is rather difficult) as much as possible without missing my footing and going sprawling headfirst onto the sidewalk.  After a few minutes, I lost sight of him.  Then, the familiar high pitched chirping sound of the osprey made me turn my head.  I saw him perched at the top of a tall Douglas fir tree in a backyard.  He (or she) presumed to chirp incessantly.  I stopped and watched, my dogs constantly tugging on the leash eager to continue their walk.  I'm sure people were wondering what I was looking at...or perhaps not, considering people passed by me and no one bothered to look in the direction I was focused on, despite the bird's racket.

Photo by Kim Taylor, Virginia, July 2011

From my experience observing Merlin Falcons, raptors generally vocalize while perched at the top of tall trees for a number of reasons.  The calling may have been to a mate or a juvenile calling for its parents, or vice versa.  Unfortunately, without binoculars and notoriously bad vision I had a hard time distinguishing whether it was a juvenile or not based off of the pronounced white outline on the black feathers on the back of the bird's body.  (Also, given the time of the year, the young may not have fledged yet, aka learned to fly).  I'm pretty certain I was looking at an adult.  Other reasons a raptor may be vocalizing in this manner is to signal that it has food for the nesting parent.  It could have also been territorial, however, ospreys are usually only territorial in the near vicinity of their nests (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2011) and the nest was not in sight. 
 

Photo by Kim Taylor, Virginia, July 2011

This isn't the first time I've seen ospreys near where I live.  They have been returning each summer for years.  Last year, after finishing up a walk, I saw one soar in my direction, flying very low, with something in its talons.  I stood on the sidewalk and watched it perch at the top of a cedar in the neighbor's backyard and rip apart a fish.  It looked up often to make sure another bird wasn't going to steal its lunch.

Osprey are almost exclusively fish eaters, whether it's fresh or saltwater fish.  They're really good at fishing, with success rates reaching as high as 70% (studies examined by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2011).  They also create interesting nests...mostly because of their location.  Ospreys generally nest on the top of flat surfaces, such as dead standing trees (snags), cliffs, telephone poles and man-made nesting platforms (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2011).  With all that fish it must get rather smelly...fortunately most osprey nests have good ventilation!

Photo by Kelly Wohlwend (author)

Driving out of Jackson, Wyoming (it's been many, many years since, so I want to say I was heading west) after visiting Grand Teton National Park, I saw one osprey nest after another along the road.  Unfortunately, this was before I purchased my Nikon with a zoom lens...but hopefully you can see the osprey in the nest.  These nests were all built on man-made platforms, specifically made for ospreys to construct their nests.

Allaboutbirds.org (one of my favorite birding websites) has a live web cam set up in Montana of a nesting osprey.  Take a look!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2487

Another interesting factoid that I (sadly) was unaware of was the fact that the Seattle Seahawks' name and logo were inspired by the osprey.  Another name for the osprey is, you guessed it, sea hawk.  I guess the resemblance is pretty obvious. 

Image from wallpaperstub.com

Photo courtesy of NASA from nationalgeographic.com

So, just remember, birds are everywhere and you never know what bird you'll see that day...so look up and Happy Birding!

References:


The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2011, www.allaboutbirds.org

Sibley, Allen D.  2003.  The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf.  471 pp.