STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO OF THE WEEK

I was trying to figure out what my story would be about, then I remembered that several times I was going to write about the Osprey (one of my favorite birds!), but something else would just pop up and I just never did the story!

THE OSPREY – (Pandion haliaetus)

The Osprey, like the Bald Eagle declined drastically in the 1950s and 1960s from the chemical DDT in North America.  They are now making a nice comeback and once again a familiar sight on lakes, bays, rivers and along the seacoast!

Description

A large, long-winged “fish hawk” that is 21-24 inches long with a 4.5-6 foot wingspan, the Osprey is brown above and white below. Its head is white with as dark line through the eye and side of face.  The wings show a distinctive bend at the ‘wrist’ and, from a distance, can resemble a large gull. They make a loud, musical chirping.

Habitat & Range

Ospreys live along lakes, rivers and seacoasts.  They have a large range through Canada and the U.S., and winter in places that include South America. 

They lay two to four spotted eggs in huge bulky nests comprised of sticks and debris, which are conspicuous on buoys, towers, tall trees, telephone poles, on rocks, or on flat ground.

Ospreys search for fish by flying and hovering over the water, watching the surface below.  When prey is sighted, an Osprey dives steeply, its talons outspread and splashes into the water.  It quickly resurfaces and, if it has made a catch, flies off, adjusting the fish in its claws so that the head of the fish is pointed forward.  The Osprey has talons lined with spicules (barbs) which help in catching and keeping their prey.  Ospreys are also opportunists; they will take prey other than fish!  I was down at Sandy Hook and observed an Osprey far off hovering and diving among the sand dunes!!  After the third dive, it came up with something in its talons.  As luck would have it, it flew towards me and I believe it had caught a squirrel!!

NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

I have to say, observing an Osprey hunting is a real treat and quite a spectacle! Let’s put things in perspective here:

FIRST, we have a very large bird (keep that large bird part in mind). SECOND, we have a fast freefall – a feet-first dive, culminating in usually a pretty large splash!!  AND, after the splash, the Osprey is completely out of sight, under water!  THIRD, the next observation you will make is a head popping up above water, followed by the wing tips and then the rest of the body quickly, as it shoots/catapults/explodes (take your pick!) skyward!!  **Let’s recall that previous keep that large bird part in mind** 

(I am going to take you on a little detour here, looking at other birds taking off from water, like waterfowl,  geese, ducks, etc., which are already on the surface [and they are not carrying off prey!]. They run along the surface of the water to get airborne. As a rule of thumb, the larger the bird, the longer the running atop the water before takeoff! 

OK, so let’s return to our underwater Osprey, which pop up and the action just keeps going skyward. There’s none of this “I’m back on the surface and I will now gain some speed along the surface to take off!” 

AM I MAKING MY POINT HERE?)

FOURTH, last but not least, AND maybe the most impressive part of all – LET US ADD A GOOD-SIZED FISH to the previous conversation! You know, just a *little* extra weight and some more body surface adding resistance in the water and into the air. Refer back to some of the photos showing fish – these are not minnows! Use the osprey to compare. Remember, an Osprey’s wingspan is around 6 feet!

CLOSING OBSERVATION

I am a big fan and stand in awe with all the water birds. Kingfishers are one of my favorite: ‘Blast into, under and blast out of the water!’  BUT, size matters – both the bird’s size and the prey’s size!

OK, Before I end my Osprey tale, let me remind of you of another TRIAL & TRIBULATION of being a hunter (and this applies to all wildlife): What you just caught or found does NOT become a meal until it enters your mouth and winds up in your stomach. If that doesn’t happen, you are still without a meal AND you have wasted a lot of time and energy for naught!

Our main photo was taken from the jetty at Shark River Inlet.  I had the best seat in the house! I walked to the end of the south jetty and took photos from the base of the light tower. I had fishermen fishing off the jetty and beach and I also had a bird’s eye view of some surfers riding some pretty nice waves just off the light tower!!  While photographing, I noticed a very large bird splash into the water quite a ways out and then I noticed it flying towards me. “Maybe it’s an Osprey!” 

I am looking through my lens trying to keep the bird in sight and suddenly there is a second large bird buzzing the other!

Wow, this must be another Osprey or Eagle and they are doing some pretty fancy flying! I was struggling trying to keep these birds in my sights to get some photos.

Well, I did get some photos AND I was quite surprised to see that the second bird was actually a huge gull (Great Black-backed Gull, the world’s largest gull!) trying to rob the Osprey of its catch. While I knew some gulls were pretty large, I was quite surprised by the size of this gull!

Before closing, I would like to make these observations.  First, I have had the opportunity to watch fishermen working the Pequest River recently and I didn’t see anyone catch anything! I did see a Great Blue Heron land by a small pond, make three successful attempts at fishing in less than five minutes and then take off. The morning of the Osprey/Gull photo, I saw numerous fishermen both at Sea Girt, NJ, during my sunrise photo visit and here along the Shark River Inlet. Same story – no fish for the fishermen, but I did witness the above story!

I will let you pick the title of the photo: 1.  The Challenge of Fishing OR 2. Fishing is for the Birds! OR 3. Fishing is all about hanging onto your catch!  Maybe I should make one more observation. From the bird’s point of view, maybe fishing is the easy part. Keeping your fish seems to be a lot more challenging!! 

NOTE: The Osprey did keep its fish!!

I hope you have enjoyed your adventures learning about this big, beautiful and gifted hunter – THE OSPREY!!

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran

Charlie Fineran is Allamuchy’s Director of Open Space, Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission Chairman and Allamuchy Historical Society President.