Week of April 13, 2025 – April 19, 2025
by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator
The Ospreys are returning! As early as March you may be able to spot the dark brown and white birds of prey returning to nest for the summer and I’m always so excited when I spot the first Osprey of the season.
Ospreys fascinate me as they seem to plop down and nest wherever they see fit. Usually nesting near water, these fisher-”birds” build large nests of sticks to raise their young. From telephone polls, to light fixtures, to cell towers, Ospreys can make anywhere feel like home. After migration, they are eager to get a start on their nests, but many Ospreys return to their previous nesting spot and realize they must start from scratch. Since many nests are built atop electrical infrastructures they are unfortunately removed after they go inactive for safety reasons. But this does not seem to slow Ospreys down in the slightest! They just start rebuilding. Their ability to survive and thrive in a manufactured world is inspiring.
Equipped with waterproof feathers and diving mechanics aircrafts are designed after, these birds are particularly skilled at catching fish. Their feet are covered in tiny spines called spicules and have a reversible outer toe, which they can rotate to the back of their foot. I marvel as they soar above the water’s surface and then suddenly make their move, spiraling fast head first towards the water’s edge, their wings in dive formation and at the last second swing their strong legs out in front of their head diving talon-first into the fish’s territory. Ospreys can fully submerge in water and, using their powerful legs, return to the surface and lift off with their prey. They swoop their wings inward towards their body and then outward behind their head to take off from the water. Once they are out of the water’s reach, Ospreys will rotate the fish to be facing head first while in flight with their unrivaled feet, decreasing resistance as they swim through the air. Those are some pretty intense design features!
In the 1940s and 1950s the widespread use of the chemical DDT had massive effects on many birds of prey including Ospreys. However, since the banning of DDT in 1972 the population of Ospreys continues to increase, they have returned to vacated breeding grounds, and are even spreading to new areas around the world! Ospreys are a conservation success story, but the conservation efforts for Ospreys and other birds of prey does not end here. We must continue to support these wonders of the world!