Bits and pieces about Ospreys

Here you will find a variety of (we hope!) interesting or thought provoking items and pictures about Ospreys. Some were included in earlier versions of the website (questions, updates etc) and seemed just too interesting to lose!

Funny looking Osprey

These pictures, sent to us by Richard Fray were published in April 2003. The challenge to explain why this bird looks a bit unusual provoked a lot of response. Many people agreed that it looks a bit out of the ordinary and several people described it well.

We think it's simply lacking the 'Highwayman's mask' dark streak running from beak, around eyes and to back of head. (Dave and Mike).
The mystery Osprey seems to be an Albino ;-) he hasn't got the Sophia Loren eye liner or the Batman/Robin eye band nor has he got the Dr Who's scarf around his neck! (Nigel Beers Smith)

However, the challenge was to explain, not just describe the bird. The clue in the photo below was spotted by some people:

My humble guess is that it is not a Eurasian Osprey at all. It is in a Borassus Palm and probably in the southern Hemisphere. (Fred Hodgson)

The subspecies was described by Alan Poole, in "Ospreys: a natural and unnatural history" (Cambridge University Press, 1989):

Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi is instantly recognizable by its very white head and breast plumage.

The Caribbean subspecies does not migrate, and Poole suggested that in 1989 the entire population was only about 100-150 pairs. We'd be interested to know if there have been any more recent estimates of this population size.

There are four distinct subspecies of Ospreys (See World Distribution)

The first correct answer came from Iain MacLeod who works with Ospreys in New Hampshire, USA:

The photo is of the Caribbean subspecies Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi. Known for their very pale head and breast plumage.

Nigel Sharp of Letchworth also said:

These look like photos of the Caribbean subspecies of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi).

Edward Massiah (formerly of Leicestershire), had an advantage - he now lives in Barbados:

It looks like a Caribbean race Osprey to me, with distinct white head appearance.

Richard Fray, another former Leicestershire resdident, who took the photos says:

Whilst I was in Belize, Central America in February, I had good reason to think of home when I found a nesting pair of Ospreys on a tiny island in the coral reef in the Caribbean sea. I got some really nice photos (a few attached) and was surprised at how white-headed they are. They are, of course, of the Caribbean race, ridgwayi.
It will be interesting to see if anybody spots the white head - I've shown a few people who have all said 'there's something not quite right about that bird' but haven't been able to put their finger on exactly what. When I've told them, they've all gone 'of course, of course!'

OSPREY PHILATELY

Thanks to Nigel Sharp of Letchworth for sending this image. He says:

I'm not a stamp collector, but a while ago I was passing a "Stamp Fair" in my local town hall, and went in out of curiosity. When I saw that some of the stamp sellers there were selling stamps according to subject ("thematically" I believe is the term), I started looking through the bird ones and came away having bought 6 stamps from various parts of the world depicting ospreys.
I wonder how many more stamps have been issued that feature this bird ?

The reply came from Bernadine Makins, who sent a huge comprehensive list. (Click here)

Ruud Kampf has sent us a picture of this stamp from Sweden and has also pointed us towards the site www.bird-stamps.org/species/29001.htm where there are pictures of over 50 osprey stamps, like those below.

AN OSPREY NEST IN THE DESERT

Ruud Kampf of Schermerhorn in the Netherlands has an interesting website which includes some superb pictures of an Osprey nest in Baja California, Mexico. The nest on the right was 5 to 6 metres high!

Click here to transfer to Ruud's website.

From the Daily Telgraph, Friday 9 February 2001:

LOCH OSPREY EATEN BY CROCODILE

One of Scotland's ospreys will not be returning home this summer...it has been eaten by a crocodile.
The bird - ringed on the shores of Loch Awe, south-east of Oban in Argyll, in the summer of 1998 - met its bizarre end during the annual migration to West Africa.

A fisherman, Doudou Ndong, filled the crocodile near the village of Missirah Nding, 200 miles inland on the Gambia river late last year.

When he cut it open he found the osprey's ring - number 1351673in its stomach and sent the details to the return address.

The ringer, Dave Anderson, said yesterday: " It is usually a thrill to hear about one of the birds we have ringed so far away but this is very sad news."

HOW TO HOLD A FISH

Ospreys have evolved with special features which help them to hold onto a fish when they make contact with it. Their feet are covered with short sharp spines which help them to grip the slippery surface of the fish. Unlike other birds of prey, an Osprey's outer toe is reversible so that the bird can grip with two toes forward and two toes back. It also has long, razor-sharp talons which can penetrate the fish, particularly when the Osprey drops suddenly down from above.

In fact sometimes an Osprey finds that the fish is firmly stuck to its talons. Then the bird needs to carry its prey to a perch and peck away until it frees itself.

HOLIDAY IN BRITTANY

In 1999 Osprey R03 broke its southward migration in Brittany, stopping for about a month near the Ile de Noirmoutier in the Bay de Bourgneuf. We received a series of very accurate locations which showed movements of 6 or 7 km and with the bird probably returning to the same location to roost overnight.

The red line coming in from the top left corner represents R03's arrival from Vannes on September 1st and the two lines to the left show a flight out to sea on the 7th. While in Brittany it was sighted and reported by French ornithologist, Jean-Christophe Lemesle - click here for details.

WHEN WERE THEY HERE?

In order to proceed with the translocation project we had to demonstrate to the licensing authorities that we could satisfy a number of important criteria set by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland). Included among these was that "There should be good historical evidence of former natural occurrence."
There is historical evidence to suggest that Ospreys once bred as far south as Rutland Water. In fact, from the few old records available and by analogy with the situation elsewhere in the world, we can safely assume that it was once widespread in the UK as a freshwater and coastal breeding species.

Fisher (1966) gives the last nesting as Isle of Wight 1570, South Devon 1757, Lundy 1838 and Somerset 1847. Yarrell (1837) said it bred regularly at the Lizard. In 1607, Shakespeare refers to the species' behaviour in one of his plays and Blackburn (1895) suggests that he would not have done so unless the bird was well known to people of the time.

Similarly in continental Europe, Ospreys are thought once to be widespread, although currently, the population is reduced to a handful of breeding pairs in the Loire Valley in France.

Some three miles to the north of Rutland Water lies Osprey Wood. Is this evidence that Ospreys once bred here or merely that they were regularly seen on passage in this area?

CANADIAN COUSINS

Bruce Craig sent an email from Ontario, Canada with this picture that he took of an unusual Osprey nest. It was published on page 1 in the Brockville Recorder and Times.

The caption read:

In recent years, naturalists have encouraged osprey to nest in the area by erecting large nesting platforms on utility poles high above the St. Lawrence River. The program has been so successful that the demand for these nests appears to be greater than the supply, as evidenced by this large inhabited nest atop a navigational aid near Ivy Lea.
(Ivy Lea is located approx. 25 miles east of Kingston Ontario)

SHOT IN FLORIDA

This remarkable series of photographs was sent to us by Ivan Steenkiste of Deinze, Belgium. They were taken at the reserve at Sanibel Island, Florida, in April 1998. These Ospreys are (probably) members of the carolinensis subspecies (See World Distribution).

	Ivan wrote: The first picture shows a bird "spreading its wings ready for take-off". The beautiful design of the colours on the lower part of the wings is very clear here. This bird, together with two others, stayed for at least 30 minutes in the water (in the "Ding Darling Reserve, Sanibel"). It was a special sight - three mighty Ospreys relaxing and probably enjoying the cool water as temperatures already were rising to 25 °C and more. Remarkable was that these birds made no attempts to catch fish. They just were there - we looked at them, and they looked at us.
This picture shows "lift-off with wheels fully out" and gaining height. The long legs are very visible here. Seeing this, I wouldn't like to be a fish !
	This picture shows a "left turn with wheels almost fully retracted". Here, the huge wingspan is clearly the attraction of the picture. For your information, all pictures were taken with a Minolta 7000 mounted on an OPTOLYTH TBS 80 (with the Optolyth adaptor) and using a Kodak 400 film. This combination Minolta / TBS 80 gives a telelens effect of 850 mm