All About Osprey

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NancyM
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All About Osprey

Post by NancyM »

This topic is for posts with links to information (books, article, videos, etc.) about osprey.

Taxonomic classification:

ORDER: ACCIPITRIFORMES
FAMILY: PANDIONIDAE
Genus/species: Pandion haliaetus

from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/osprey/lifehistory
The name "Osprey" made its first appearance around 1460, via the Medieval Latin phrase for "bird of prey" (avis prede). Some wordsmiths trace the name even further back, to the Latin for "bone-breaker"—ossifragus.



A video called "Osprey - the ultimate fisher" posted by arkive.org
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Post by Kukelke »

When browsing the internet today I found two documentaries which contain items on ospreys, both from the BBC.

It's The Animal’s Guide to Britain - Freshwater Animals (first 16 minutes), and Autumnwatch 2011 (from 20:07 - 26:18, and from 46:12 - 52:20)
They contain info about (British) ospreys, their decline and return, suitable habitats, man-made nests, satellite tracking and so on, and so forth.

I also found the title of a 1hr documentary broadcasted by the BBC in 2006, called "Osprey Odyssey", but the BBC site tells me that it's not currently available on BBC iPlayer, and I haven't been able to find it elsewhere yet, so if someone can find that documentary, please share because it looks very promising.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjbd7mIz ... age&t=2581

Ospreys start at about 43:00. Link is copied at that time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Osprey#p00m14h5
Not all videos still online available.


http://www.arkive.org/osprey/pandion-ha ... o-09d.html
Polyandrous ospreys (1 Female, 3 chicks, 2 Male) feeding chicks in desert habitat

Thanks for this Topic Nancy
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Post by Kukelke »

I remember this was mentioned somewhere in an osprey related topic last year, but I think it's worth mentioning again. It's about the fundraising of a long documentary on ospreys. After the 2013 breeding season the documentary should be available, as far as I understood.

Preview of the documentary and additional information on the project.

Their facebook page and their newsletter.
Osprey is a high-end natural history documentary featuring unlimited exclusive access to a uniquely located nesting site and the life-long pair that have inhabited it for over ten years. It offers one-of-a-kind perspectives and unprecedented intimacy as it follows the pair throughout their summer breeding season in a small coastal inlet of Eastern North America.
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Post by Kukelke »

A prize winning book on ospreys, meant for children, is Gill Lewis: Sky Hawk

Image

This book is also translated to a lot of other languages: Catalan, Chinese, Czech (Let', ris, let'), Danish (Himmelørn), Dutch (Kulanjango, mijn vogelvriend), Faroese, French (Le secret d'Iona), German (Der Ruf des Kulanjango), Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian (Il grido del falco), Korean, Norwegian (Himmelørnen), Slovenian (Vrnzila se bo) and Welsh. There's also a special U.S. edition with the title "Wild Wings".
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Post by Kukelke »

An article in Dutch which I haven't read myself yet, but can be of interest is: F. van der Helm: Deze vogel hoort in de Hollandse lucht : Nederland is klaar voor de spectaculaire visarend (F. van der Helm: This bird belongs in the Dutch sky: The Netherlands is ready for the spectacular osprey)

The article is about the distribution (as stop-over on their spring and autumn migration to and from Scandinavia) , habitat, behaviour and ecology of the osprey in The Netherlands, and the expectations related to the return as a breeding species.

People who want to read this article should follow the link above, then log in there as guest user, and then click the link on the right side "Vraag deze publicatie aan".


----------


Some more information about ospreys in The Netherlands (not from the article above):

Ospreys were once in the Middle Ages, a breeding species in the Netherlands, and the last 10-15 years there are observed more and more 'oversummering' birds, most likely young adults which returned to Europe for the first time. On a few occasions indications of nest building activity like ospreys flying with large sticks have been observed too, but as far as we know there haven't been laid eggs or confirmed fledglings yet.

This a bit outdated map from Sovon from 1998-2000 shows three sites in The Netherlands were there were possible breeding ospreys. (light blue = possible breeding; medium blue = likely breeding; dark blue = confirmed breeding)
Image
I read somewhere else (can't find it back right now) that there have been likely breeding attempts in 2002 and 2006. I also know that on several sites in The Netherlands where many ospreys are sighted fouraging, people have erected nesting poles with artificial nests in order to help these birds to breed once more.

And this map shows all the confirmed sightings of Ospreys in The Netherlands the last 365 days.
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Post by macdoum »

Young opsreys released in N Spain;

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3905
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Post by Kukelke »

4 Minute video of an osprey hunting in the Biesbosch*, a Dutch national park and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The video is from yesterday, August 24th 2013, and shows mostly the aerial part of the hunt (some of it in slow motion), including this 'hovering' (standing still in the air as to create a mobile lookout post) which some birds of prey are capable of:




* From the 'Biesbosch'-link above:
The Dutch government has decided to undo most of the reclamation and give it back to nature and to reconnect the main rivers with the Biesbosch creeks. This decision has been made as a result of extremely high river discharges in 1993 and 1995. This means that a large part of the Biesbosch will return to its original state: an interconnected network of rivers and creeks, serving as an inland river delta. The area can then be used as a natural buffer to prevent major floods and to lower the risk of very high river levels. This will also restore some of the natural situation and will result in an expansion of the habitat of many animals.

Especially the beaver population could profit from these hydrological changes. It would also hopefully create the right conditions for the return of the Osprey and the White-tailed Eagle as breeding birds. Because of recent nature development of new wetlands the great egret and the little egret have already become familiar elements in the Biesbosch today. There is also an increase in the population of bitterns and kingfishers. Moreover, as of 2013 a couple of White-tailed Eagles has been breeding in the Biesbosch for several years in a row.
So the white tailed eagles have already returned as breeding birds (without active human help as in a re-introduction program), and ospreys have become a pretty common sight again too.
From what I read elsewhere, I understood that ospreys not only use this inland river delta on their route to and from Scandinavia, but also that it has been used by socalled 'oversummering' ospreys the last couple of years. Bird-watchers have confirmed suspicious nest-building activity, that is that they witnessed ospreys flying with branches and other nesting material, but until now it remains unknown if there really is one (or more) osprey pair attempting to breed. Or it is kept secret to the public, which would be a reasonable thing to do, in order to avoid extra disturbance. Anyway, fingers crossed for breeding ospreys there.

Here some more videos from the last couple of years of ospreys in the same national park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir8Ce1eCtVA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM-zYbvPqmQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg29zQQ3NVA

And especially this video I find interesting, because an osprey is attacking a pair of white tailed eagles (still in the aforementioned national park):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VltN_km0_O8

Why would an osprey take on two white tailed eagles which are significantly bigger? Normally such behaviour is, if I'm not mistaken, associated with defending young and/or nesting sites...


Finally some recent news from Staatsbosbeheer (a gouvernmental organisation which controls and and conserves Dutch nature reserves) from August 22nd, 2013:
Het gaat goed met de zeearend en de visarend in Nederland. De zeearend broedt sinds 2006 weer in ons land en de kans dat je zo’n imposante roofvogel tegenkomt, wordt steeds groter. De visarend broedt nog niet in Nederland, maar is wel steeds vaker ook in de lente en zomer te zien. Dat kan er op duiden dat ze hier binnenkort gaan broeden.

Deze tijd van het jaar is hét moment om zeearenden en visarenden te zien. Dat kan bijvoorbeeld in de Biesbosch tijdens de vaarexcursies van Staatsbosbeheer op zaterdag 31 augustus en zondag 8 september. In de ondiepe, visrijke lagunes scharrelt de visarend hier zijn kostje bij elkaar. En de dode bomen gebruiken ze als uitkijkpost. Ook zeearenden hebben dit jaar weer succesvol gebroed in de Biesbosch en brachten hier twee jongen groot. Eerder deze maand werden maar liefst zeven zeearenden gezien in dit zoetwatergetijdengebied.

http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/nieuws%20 ... bosch.aspx


Roughly translated (by me) it says:

It goes well with the white tailed eagle and osprey in The Netherlands. Since 2006 the white tailed eagle breeds again in our country and the chance to meet such an impressive bird of prey increases steadily. The osprey doesn't breed in the Netherlands yet, but is spotted more often in spring and summer. That could indicate that they'll breed here soon.

This time of the year is the moment to watch white tailed eagles and ospreys. That is for example possible in the Biesbosch during excursions by boat which Staatsbosbeheer organises on saturday August 31st and sunday september 8th. In the shallow, fish rich lagunes the osprey scrapes his meal together. And the dead trees they use as a lookout post. Also, white tailed eagles have bred succesfully in the Biesbosch this year and they reared two young here. Earlier this month no less than seven white tailed eagles were spotted in this fresh water littoral zone.
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Post by macdoum »

Posted in Dyfi from Vanessa Greene from Minnesota at Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch blog
August 2, 2013

Fledging...
I would like to elaborate on something mentioned earlier which seems to have raised questions. It relates to behaviors during the early post fledging time. When an osprey chick flies for the first time, they do not have the skill level that an adult has. I mentioned that if they land on the ground, they usually can't get going again from that position until they are stronger and have developed more skill. Adult ospreys do not usually feed a chick that ends up on the ground. Feeding at that stage of development occurs on the nest. If a rescuer finds a chick on the ground, they may try to place a chick on a fence or in a tree. This is done to facilitate the young birds take off, to return to the nest.(and to prevent predation by ground predators). This does not mean the chick will get fed there. In my 20 years of watching young ospreys fly for the first time, I have seen them land somewhere, like on the ground, in a tree or telephone pole and sit there food begging for many hours, perhaps even a day or more. I have NOT seen the adults feed them there. I have frequently observed the adults flying around the stuck chick with a fish, and then flying to the nest, as if to lure them back there to eat. Feeding occurs at the nest for 10- 20 days after fledge. Young ospreys do not seem to have the dexterity to perch and hold a fish to eat at first. It won't take them too long to develop those skills, but at the time of the first few flights they usually need to return to the nest to get fed. It can seem cold to see adults ignoring a young osprey desperately food begging, but perhaps they instinctively know that if the youngster can't fly well enough to get back to the nest, it is not a wise investment of their energy to feed it. Sometimes human intervention can change the outcome, but sometimes not. I have seen chicks repeatedly jump or fall out of a nest, and putting it back in the nest several times did not help. Some chicks just don't develop properly and do not survive. I always think its worth a try. This is contrary to the behaviors of some other birds. I have rescued songbirds who fledged too soon many times, placing them in a high perch and the adults will feed them there. I can't explain why ospreys behave differently, I can only report what my observations have been over 20 years.
Thank you Vanessa and Dyfi :2thumbsup:
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Post by macdoum »

From WVForum;
1) Osprey Documentary Feature

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater
Do watch full screen..seems part 2 is to follow.
:thumbs:
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Post by lianaliesma »

macdoum, thank you very much! :hi:
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Post by Malewitsch »

By Jen Clark
The latest data on our young ospreys has been downloaded by Mike. Breagha has bit the bullet and left the UK, making a safe crossing across the channel to Normandy. Oighrig on the other hand is still making good progress but looks to be doing a U-turn in a similar manner to Caledonia last year. The data for 30th August was not available yet so here is the latest for 28th and 29th August.

BREAGHA

He moved into France on 28th August passing South of Plymouth before turning SE near Kingsbridge to cross the English coast and venture SE over the English Channel to cross the French coast of Normandy near Biville at around 14.00 GMT. He continued SE to roost near Magneville in Normandy. A total journey of around 230 km.

He had a leisurely day on 29th August travelling only 30 km or so roosting at 19.00 GMT 7 km SW of Carentan, still in Normandy. En route he spent the hours between 11.00 and 17.00 GMT around canals and a small lake presumably looking to stock up on food. If the recent days are anything to go by he will probably make a long journey on 30th August.
Image
OIGHRIG

He continued his long journey South with little let up in progress travelling some 470 km in the two days.

He left the roost early on 28th August travelling South. At 15.00 GMT he was in the Sierra Nevada Mountains flying at 175 km altitude and changed direction to SW eventually coming to roost at 19.00 GMT W of the town of Granada.

An early start again on 29th August travelling SSW, changed direction to SSW at 09.00 GMT near Arenas Del Rey near Lake Bermejales where he may have stopped for breakfast. He passed just North of Malaga and Marbella before turning NW at 13.00 GMT to turn in land. He roosted at 19.00 GMT West of the small town of Jarana and 18 km West of Cadiz.
Image

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Post by Malewitsch »

Loch Garten Ospreys Migration
Oirigh presses on and Breagha stays put.

by Mike H

There is only data for two days for both Breagha and Oighrig but a full data set for Caledonia. There is no need for alarm as this often happens due to the vagaries of satellite transmissions, etc.

BREAGHA

He has not been very active over the last couple of days. On 9 September he moved SW from his overnight roost near Chapelle-sur-Loire on the Loire and spent the morning and early afternoon on the Loire opposite Montsoreau before travelling in an SE direction along the Vienne River to Lac Tétine which seems to have become a favourite spot. This is a small lake which translates to Lake Pacifier/Dummy and is part of a French ZNIEFF site which is the equivalent of the UK SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). The fishing must be good (hopefully not of protected species!) as he appeared to spend all of 10 September around the lake.
Image
OIGHRIG

He continued his journey S on 9 September travelling around 115 km before coming to roost. He started the day by spending at least two hours on the coast 16 km W of his overnight roost. Presumably he was catching breakfast. He then flew off SSE to roost at 18.00 GMT 12 km N of Mederdra in Mauritania. He set off early on 10 September travelling only 12 km before stopping for about four hours. He then flew S to stop at 18.00 GMT to overnight on a small lake 20 km NNE of Dagana on the Senegal border. Today’s temperature forecast is 38 deg C so the lake must provide a welcome refreshing dip! The journey today was a modest 47 km.
Image
CALEDONIA

She appears to have had a really idle three days around the Rio Guadalquivir site. The fishing must be really good so why waste energy flying around! The weather in this area of Spain is also very hot in the high 20 deg C and only a slight chance of rain. We have not shown Caledonia’s location on a map for some time so here is a view of her favourite location.
Image
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/places ... 13/09.aspx
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Post by macdoum »

Very interesting Blog published at Dyfi by The Wildlif Skyscanner :thumbs:
Weather- awareness of migrating birds

http://thewildlifewriter.blogspot.co.uk ... anner.html
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Post by Kukelke »

Video of a migrating juvenile osprey who decided to have a stop over in the Netherlands and forage for food amidst lots of power lines and a very trafficed road. First he sits on the upper line which doesn't lead electricity, before he gets told by a peregrine falcon, who also uses the power lines as a lookout post, to move somewhere else. He then flies around, several times attempting to land on the lower lines with electricity, but fortunately the osprey finally decides that such isn't the smartest of ideas. Towards the end of the video he makes a few dives into some "sand holes" (water filled holes left after excavating sand for industrial and building purposes), without succes, before he dissapears into the direction of a nearby natural and pretty shallow (1-1,5 m) lake: The Leekstermeer.




And here a newspaper article about an osprey nest, which was built on top of a traffic signal pole and caused unsuspected poopshots on pedestrians. The nest then was moved to a new location, just a few yards away. Pictures in the article: http://www.floridatoday.com/article/A9/ ... ck_check=1

Finally an article about ospreys (re)colonising the San Fransisco Bay Area: http://baynature.org/articles/ospreys-t ... cisco-bay/
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Post by macdoum »

Chris Packam on osprey fishing;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Osprey#p00g9r9k

Good illustration of the osprey technique. :thumbs:
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Post by macdoum »

Ospreys and Fish & Chips :rotf:

http://blog.balnagown.com/2013/09/fish-and-chips/

Unusual behavior of young ospreys. :dunno:

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