The 'Un-fishing' Osprey

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a majestic fishing eagle which is quite widespread owing to its ability to tolerate a highly diverse variety of habitats. Osprey is the second most widely distributed raptor species after the peregrine falcon, and is one of only six land-birds with a worldwide distribution.

They are found on all the continents except Antarctica, although in South America they occur only as non-breeding migrants. Ospreys, as the name ( fishing eagle ) indicates, predominantly feed on fish, which makes up for 99% of their diet.

Everytime I visit Goa, I plan for a boat ride on the river Zuari. It is a wonderful way to experience the mangroves and the wonderful avian diversity on offer there.

Among the wide variety of bird life that you get to see on the river Zuari, Ospreys are one of the usual suspects, seen around quite regularly. The fishing poles erected by the fishermen serve as the Osprey’s perching platforms and also as their dining tables.

I was on one such boat ride in January this year. There was good activity all around and we were having a good time. Surprisingly though, Ospreys seemed to be missing in action. We had not come across even a single individual for quite a while. Though a rare occurrence, it could still happen that we might end the boat ride without sighting an Osprey. However, we held on to our hope.

Soon enough our wish was granted! There it was, the mighty Osprey, gliding down from the sky, flying across the left side of our boat and heading towards one of the fishing poles nearby. The Osprey reached the fishing pole and settled down on it.

Having positioned itself on the pole, the individual started looking down at the waters below, very intently. Seemed like the Osprey was in deep deliberation, intensely focused on something. Osprey looking at the water intently would mean only one thing, it was looking for a catch, a fish to make a meal of.

We paused our boat and kept our distance. Now, it was just a waiting game. Anything could happen. The Osprey could fail to identify a target and just take off OR it could in-fact notice a potential prey and make the catch. These unknowns, the unpredictabilities, alongside the waiting, with bated breaths are what makes wildlife photography so exciting and so much fun. You can never truly be prepared for things like these.

Being pushed by the wavy waters and the strong wind, the fishing pole was wobbling around. The Osprey was trying to steady itself by stretching out its wings.

We kept looking at the Osprey and the Osprey continued looking at the waters below. The wait went on for quite some time. We were all getting to the brink of our levels of patience.

Meanwhile, some interesting tid-bits from Wikipedia :

Ospreys have a vision that is well adapted to detecting underwater objects from the air. Prey is first sighted when the osprey is 10–40 m (33–131 ft) above the water, after which the bird hovers momentarily and then plunges feet first into the water.

They catch fish by diving into a body of water, oftentimes completely submerging their entire bodies. As an osprey dives, it adjusts the angle of its flight to account for the distortion of the fish’s image caused by refraction.

Ospreys will typically eat on a nearby perch but have also been known to carry fish for longer distances.

OK, back to the story.

The wait for the Osprey to act, was still on! Nothing happened. Having been at the same place for a while now, we all felt that we should move on.

Just as our boat was getting started up, I noticed the Osprey change its position on the fishing pole. I knew right then that the Osprey was now ready, had probably spotted a target and was going to take off. The Osprey did exactly that. I was prepared for it 😉

The Osprey went straight to the water below, with its talons wide open.

Into the water, making a huge splash…

Steadying itself using its powerful wings…

The huge bird was literally floating on the water’s surface. I am sure this took a lot of strength and was a drain on the bird’s energy reserves.

Looked like the job was done, the Osprey had caught what it had targeted. Now, it was time to take off.

Using its powerful wing muscles, beating them to the full, the Osprey began to gain the lift that was needed for the take off.

In all this melee, the bird had indeed caught a fish. If you observe closely in the image below, you will be able to spot the small fish in the Osprey’s talons.

And just as the Osprey thought it had the catch secured, the tables turned. The fish escaped from the birds’ talons and jumped off.

Skipping a couple of times and back into the water.

The Osprey, who was already spent, didn’t have much of a choice but to look at the fish swim away to safety, back from the dead! It was the day of the fish. The powerful ‘fishing’ Osprey turned into the ‘Un-fishing’ one, due to sheer bad luck and perhaps some unsharpened technique.

With total bewilderment, the Osprey kept looking at the water to see if there could be another chance to make things right. It wasn’t to be so, unfortunately. It was a “Aiyyo Vada Poche” moment for the Osprey ( my Tamil friends will be able to understand this dialogue by Vadivelu from one of his famous comedy scenes 😃 )

The bird continued on its flight, heading out to try his luck elsewhere.

With a final glance at me. May be telling me…

" That was not my best performance, please erase all the footage… “ 😃

In the Natural World, Predators across the board, be it birds or mammals, do have a very tough and demanding life. Their success rates in terms of hunting is usually quite low. They have to literally earn their food.

May be this Osprey individual was a juvenile and was still honing its fishing skills, which will surely get better by the day.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post. See you on the next one.