These glorious birds always take my breath away. I am so fortunate I live where they appear fairly often, and keep an ear open for the faint scree of a Bald Eagle or the musical chirp of an Osprey, ready to drop everything and look up, to watch before they glide over the horizon.
Incredibly, last month I saw an interaction between them - just an ephemeral moment but thrilling to me. It probably happens a lot among them but I got lucky, happened to be right there. Had my camera so I can share it here at the Dawn Chorus, at least a few of the pics that were reasonably in focus! I know you folks love these gorgeous birds too.
(Photos by me, in Lightbox...click to enlarge for better resolution)
Osprey descending on screaming Eagle, here's what happened...
I was bicycling along the road by the beach, my daily constitutional, when I heard the unmistakable chirp chirp of an Osprey. Threw down the bike and looked up.
On May 22 I saw my first osprey of the season, and then a few times since then soaring over the bay, perching in the trees or fishing. On this day, June 7, there were two Ospreys, circling over the bay, chirping at each other. Flying in formation, dancing in the sky:
After a few minutes one settled onto a high tree of the wooded headland by the bay. The other disappeared, either into the trees or across the headland and away out of sight. Osprey sat quietly, watching in every direction:
Five minutes or so later in glides a Bald Eagle, right past Osprey, settling itself on a treetop nearby, flapping and screeing loudly. Howling. Then Eagle arranged its feathers and stared out toward the bay:
Osprey takes exception to the interloper. Is there a nest in the woods, or perhaps just the general rivalry of these two? Osprey charges at Eagle. Eagle hears it behind, turns to look:
Incoming, with giant talons! Eagle starts screeching, Osprey is too. So close!
Eagle beats a retreat. Osprey isn't as big as Eagle, but that doesn't matter...this is Osprey's headland, at least today. Chased Eagle right across the bay and out of sight.
Both such magnificent gorgeous birds, so cool to see them both, doing their wild thing!
After seeing this I was curious to learn about how other people have seen them interact. My reading revealed mostly stories of eagles harassing osprey to release a captured fish. The reason eagles go after ospreys rather than the reverse is because osprey are better at catching fish. Whereas eagles snatch fish skimming along the surface, osprey dive straight down to the water at speed, turning right-side-up at the last minute to shoot their long legs a foot and a half below the surface, feel around and grab a fish below. Osprey are lighter than eagles, so can float and take off from the water more easily. Plus their feet are better suited to holding fish securely: with one reversible toe, they can grip with two toes in front & two in back, as compared to eagles' three and one. They are so nimble with their talons they can flip a fish around head forward in order to fly more aerodynamically.
Osprey are fast and agile, but eagles are bigger and stronger. An eagle plummeting 50 mph at you is a daunting competitor. However I read a study done in Nova Scotia where eagle-osprey interactions were tracked over a summer in a common foraging area. In 500 hours of observations the researchers found the birds were generally tolerant of each other, with only 1.5% of the time being hostile interaction. Of the 1793 times an osprey caught a fish, on only two of them did an eagle successfully steal the fish. This is just one study of course but the perception of constant harassment might be an artifact of remembering the dramatic incidents.
Occasionally osprey will attack eagles. I read one report of an incident in Virginia where an osprey arrived for the summer at its nest and found it already occupied by a family of eagles. The observer watched the osprey attack the parent eagles for 30 minutes before giving up (the osprey and its mate built a new nest a quarter mile away). The images of this incident captured by a photographer show a lot of talon action, including an eagle upside down grabbing upward with its outstretched talons.
My impression is that these are both formidable birds, and despite the size difference, osprey are pretty good at holding their own. I'd be interested to hear of any experiences you folks have had watching interactions between large predatory birds of different species: hawks, vultures, ravens, owls?
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Diary is scheduled to publish at 6am Pacific time as usual...I'm not awake for a while, but please add any of your own beautiful bird encounters from the week in the comments below. I'll catch up later in the morning.