The Fish Hawk’s Catch

About seventy yards above the waters’ surface this osprey hovers like a helicopter, its yellow eyes focused on its prey.

With a sudden-feet first plunge its talons open like claws.  The bird of prey hooks its catch and off it flies with his fish. 

The osprey is a hawk known as a fish hawk.  Its primary food is fish but will search nearby fields and swamps for rodents, snakes and other reptiles as a last resort.  They build their nest out of sticks and debris placed in a tree, on rocks, or telephone poles.  I often see nests built on day-markers and channel-markers.  The male delivers the fish to the female on the nest who tears off pieces to feed to the young.

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Photos and writing by 1kayaker.wordpress.com  (Richard Smith)