OSPREYS ARE WONDERFUL

Ospreys are some of the most amazing birds I have ever encountered. The first time I ever saw one was when I was a 12 year old kid on vacation way up in the Northwoods of Quebec. It happened the first time I ever took out Dad's 17' square-stern canoe with 3 hp motor. I headed up to the Narrows and parked near one of our lunch sites and soon became aware of a loud thwack on the other side of the lake and when I looked I saw an Osprey take off. It soared high, circled and then dove again with another loud thwack. It was awesome and although I have seen Ospreys many times since, nothing equaled the magic of that first moment.

Subsequent sightings of Ospreys were few and far between. For one thing, I did not live in Osprey habitat. In my present location, if I saw an Osprey at all, it would be during migration. I saw my first WV Osprey on a wonderful early spring canoe trip through Canaan Valley many years ago. But more than that, for much of my time, Ospreys were in serious decline and their populations tanked, largely due to pesticide accumulation and the effects of those chemicals on nesting success. That bugaboo is now behind us although there is still pressure from the agricultural community to reinstate the use of DDT.

For eight years, I lived on North Carolina's Outer Banks where Ospreys were alive and well. There was abundant opportunity to observe these magnificent birds. We lived in a boating community which consisted of numerous canals and land projections and I took an annual nest census each year of just our harborside community. My original count was 24 nests, but even in this community, that number declined; it was down to 17 at last count. New construction and hurricanes accounted for most of the loss, but incredibly, what did NOT affect nesting success was human activity. Boats were going in and out all day, people were mowing the grass right under the nesting platforms, loud construction was going on nearby, etc., but the Ospreys seemed to adapt to all of this human noise, more so than I perhaps.

Osprey watching became a major activity for me and I witnessed some of the most amazing things about them. We were lucky to have a tall nest platform in the vacant lot just next door to us. We could peer into each other's bedrooms, so to speak. Since Ospreys have been shown to mate for life, we could always count on the same pair returning each spring. I kept track of when our first Osprey would appear on nest and it was usually the last days of February or the first of March. After Osprey young have fledged and are on their own (in early to mid-August), the adults would depart for their leisurely migration to wintering grounds. Radio tracking data show that the pairs of Ospreys do not "cohabit" or even have anything to do with each other after nesting chores are finished. And why should they? They go on separate vacations. You and your spouse might want to give that a try :). The reasons for being together simply are no longer required. The tracking data show that the paths the birds quickly diverge. One partner may winter in Belize and the other hundreds of miles away in southern Mexico, for example.

Now here is the kicker. The female would show up on our next door nest platform within 24 ours of the male, How do they do that? How would two birds who spent the winter hundreds of miles apart arrive at their nesting site so close together at the same finite spot on the planet within 24 hours of each other? Remarkable. But then Ospreys are remarkable birds.

During my first summer, I would occasionally see an Osprey flying low over the water, skimming it with its talons making a streak in the water. At first, I thought it was "fishing", but this did not jibe with my youthful observations in Quebec nor what I had read about their food-gathering methods. Well, when you want to find out something like this, none of the current guide books will help you - all they will do is point out in minute detail what the bird looks like all the way down to its innermost feathers and inter-molt appearances, etc. All very boring to this observer. There is only one place to go and that is the monumental multi-volume series published back in the 20's and 30's by Bent. In my copy, I found the answer. It seems that the Ospreys are "washing" their feet getting rid of the slimy fish parts wedged between their talons. Makes sense. After tearing up to five pounds of fish per day for the young and each adult, things would get a little gamey up in the nest. I have seen all manner of discarded fish parts below our platform so can only imagine how "ripe" it must be within the nest :). Not all the feeding takes place in the nest. The above pic shows one having breakfast on our back deck railing.

Speaking of which - our Ospreys did not live alone. Each summer, they had some pretty raucous neighbors which they seemed to tolerate if not encourage. Commensalism is a great word in biology and means "eating at the same table". A good example is the association of Ospreys with House Sparrows. These latter birds are the mice of the bird world who have adapted quite well to the refuse of civilization including the messes we leave behind. Voracious at the bird feeders put out to attract more interesting American birds, House Sparrows are considered as vermin by most bird watchers. Well they do just fine cleaning up the gunk in an Osprey nest. They build their nests right within the sticks and branches that the Ospreys have used to construct their own nest! All day long the House Sparrows fly in and out of the Osprey nest "basement" without so much as attracting a doleful eye from their landlords. The House Sparrow benefits from having a well-protected home already built for them as well as all the food they could possibly want. Hey, three squares and a roof. The Ospreys benefit from having these scavengers help tidy up the joint.

Do I like to watch Ospreys? You betcha - more fun than just counting them or checking them off on a list.