Thursday, October 22, 2015

Osprey, North Myrtle Beach, SC


Nature doesn't provide a safety net. If you don't hunt, you don't eat...in this case fish. The osprey is a hawk that fishes. That's unique among hawks. Nearly the entire diet of an Osprey consists of fish.




A wave of  Ospreys patrolled the Atlantic shoreline off North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They could have been just passing through or winter residents. As autumn fades and winter approaches it is hard to tell where they will spend their winter.

However, South America is a good guess. With nearly a six foot wingspan, long distance traveling is not a problem for them.

Any lake, stream, marsh or ocean shoreline would suit an Osprey just fine. Ospreys need open water to fish the year round.



                  A female makes an abrupt stop when she spots a fish, hovers briefly and goes into a dive.





The dive is a high speed maneuver of timing and agility. In the plunge there is little room for error. Any miscalculation results in a missed meal.

In this case the fish saw her coming and jumped out of the way at the last second...too late to change course.

Score one for the fish.
Osprey...zero  

                                                                  Nothing to do, but try again.


Powerful wingbeats raise her out of the water. That is no easy task for a heavy wet bird. Ducks and geese have webbed feet for a running start over the water to get airborne. The Osprey talons have no such ability. She only has wing power to rise from the water.






With wings drawn close for maximum speed she sights through her talons to hunt again.

Her concentration is intense. At the last second she will fold her wings behind her body to reduce drag when entering the water.

Even fish three feet beneath the surface are reachable this way.


The Osprey's talons have evolved differently from other hawks. An Osprey's outer talon is reversible allowing it to grasp its slippery prey front and back. When flying they rotate the fish's head forward to minimize wind resistance.








Male and females look alike, although the female wears a brown 'necklace' across her breast.

Allan

Credit: 
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
Wikipedia





4 comments:

  1. Excellent blog and photos. Thank you for posting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Mit Tressler. May I ask you how you found my blog post from four years ago?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sure!I was looking for a video that showed Ospreys actually under the water... which I never did find (although I came across mention of one several times, but the links were broken...) Along the easy, I came across a lot of great videos, blogs, and photography; yours was one of those interesting posts.
    :)

    Happy New Decade Allan! If you ever come across that video, please let me know.

    Mitty

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for this!

    ReplyDelete