"He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with azure world, he stands.
The Wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls;
And like a thunderbolt he falls."
Ringed with azure world, he stands.
The Wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls;
And like a thunderbolt he falls."
The Eagle, 1851
Today's bird is the mighty Osprey. If you live anywhere near water in the Americas you can probably, with a little guidance, find an Osprey nest nearby. Given the Osprey's position at or near the apex of the food chain, they aren't shy about conspicuous consumption -- often they'll nest in plain sight atop manmade structures like telephone poles, all the while gorging ravenously on fresh-caught fish. I sighted the pair below in April (a few years back), sharing a delectable fillet of the Pacific's finest sashimi.
Some of my more punctilious audience members likely winced when they saw the title of the Tennyson poem, above, as the Osprey is not taxonomically a true eagle. However, in appearance, behavior, and general majesty, they are close-close cousins to sea eagles like the famous Bald Eagle. Ospreys are fearsome hunters, with some seen successfully plucking fish out of the sea on 70% of dives (imagine a baseball player with a .700 batting average). Like the Bald Eagle, Osprey populations were decimated by use of the pesticide DDT in the 1950s and 60s. They have made a triumphant recovery in the last 40 years and can now be found up and down the western hemisphere, often migrating thousands of miles every spring and fall.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and great birding in 2018!
