Fish Eagle Attack Call Dive Nestling Nest Feed Swoop
Like 1 Dislike 0 Published on 7 Jun 2008
Video shows Osprey diving after fish, feeding nestlings, tearing food apart, swooping, calling, defending nest, responding to intruders, protecting nestlings, nestling, flying and other characteristics of their lives. In one part of the video, the osprey carries a large chunk of fish in its talons. In other parts, osprey can be seen diving for prey.
Although the osprey usually eats fish, they can also eat rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. In this video, an osprey is shown suddenly changing course in mid-air. Possibly it planned a dive, but it also may have tried to catch a bird, because it nearly went into a tree. A very low jet flew over just before it dived and possibly it mistook it for a large predator and dove to escape.
The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is also called the fish eagle, seahawk, or fish hawk. It is a huge fish-eating predator. This raptor is 24 in. in length, has a 6 ft. wingspan, and can weigh up to almost 5 lbs.
Its head is white with a dark mask across the eyes that reaches to the sides of the neck. The irises of its eyes are golden to brown with a transparent bale blue nictitating membrane. It is whitish on the head and underparts with a brownish eyepatch and wings.
It has a very complicated call, as shown here-with a large vocabulary of sounds. Its calls include sharp whistles, and a sort of shreek. In this video, as boaters approached the nest, the birds gave a great variety of calls. The Osprey can arch its wings, which gives it a gull type appearance.
Ospreys normally mate for life and live 20-25 years.
In heraldry, the Osprey is depicted as a white eagle. It is featured on 50 postage stamps. In mythology, a king became a sea eagle to attack his dauthter when she fell in love with Minos, king of Crete.
It has been variously classified with the falcons, hawks, and eagles. It is unusual in that it is a single species that occurs nearly everywhere in the world and in all climates.