Our Totem - The Mighty Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
What do you know about your lodge totem? This is some history of the Japeechen lodge totem, the Osprey, provided by Neil Clark from his book, Eastern Birds Of Prey.
Observation Guidelines
The osprey remains a threatened species in New England. It is an uncommon summer resident, frequenting the area from early April until early October, with Maine harboring the largest population. Most individuals winter in Florida or farther south, although some endure along the coast as far north as Long Island. Since it feeds exclusively on fish, the fish hawk is found only near water, be it lake, river, or ocean.
Standing almost two feet tall with a wingspan of up to six feet, this bird is our largest raptor next to the bald eagle, golden eagle, and turkey vulture. Because the vulture is not found in the same
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Image courtesy of Peter Wallack - Birds of Sanibel |
habitat as the osprey, only the eagle could be confused with it. The long, narrow wings of the osprey reveal distinct black patches at the wrist, which show well from below. Basically, the bird has a blackish back, white undersides, and a black cheek patch.
Ospreys can be differentiated from eagles by flight alone. When viewed from below, as is usually the case, ospreys have a noticeable bow or crook in the elbow areas which is diagnostic, i.e., the wings aren't extended to their limits except during migration. Ospreys flap a lot and often hover in place while hunting for live fish, and can look like large gulls from afar. They've been clocked migrating at 80 mph. Eagles, conversely, flap less and soar more, with their flat, wide wings fully extended. They are heavy fliers who rarely hover, and feed largely on dead fish.
Calls of the osprey are also distinctive; they are a series of loud, sharp, high-pitched whistles that sound like drawn-out chicken peepings. The excited calls carry well over water, and, one reason why farmers take to the bird, aside from them keeping hawks away, is that the screams serve as a warning in the same way a watch dog's growls do when a stranger approaches.
Natural History
The cosmopolitan osprey, or fish hawk, is the only hawk-like bird that dives into the water. It is so well adapted to the fishing life that the species is found on every landmass on earth except New Zealand and Antarctica. Only a decade ago, however, it was in serious trouble, hovering near the brink of extinction.
This aquatic hunter feasts on fish that swim close to the surface, including herring, hornpout, trout, flying fish, carp, menhaden, perch, pickerel, and salmon. It is well adapted to catching them, as evidenced by the soles of the feet, which sport spiny projections called spicules that firmly grasp the slippery, wriggling prey.
The method of hunting, surely the most primitive form of fishing, is a marvel to witness. A bird, flying perhaps a hundred feet above the water, will spot some rippling movement far below, hover heavily for a minute, then fold in its wings and swoop down at an angle, as if it were to land like a duck. Talons-first it hits the blue with a big splash, wings up and head down. Seizing a fish in its claws, it struggles up out of the water, shaking itself off, and heads for a favorite perch to pick apart the catch.
Fish are usually carried away headfirst because they are caught that way (from the rear), but, if not, they are turned around in the air. Fish up to five pounds are reported to have been caught. A curious habit often observed is foot washing. A bird will glide low over the water, almost touching the surface, and then dip and drag its feet for ten or fifteen yards. This practice apparently removes fish slime accumulated on the talons.
Nesting sites vary greatly, from the ground to sixty feet up a dead tree, on utility poles, fishing shacks, aerials, billboards, windmills, and even chimneys. On the Sheepscot River, near Wiscasset, Maine, two pairs of seaworthy ospreys have chosen lighted channel buoys to build upon the last few years. The U.S. Coast Guard cooperates by setting out duplicate buoys for the summer season.
Nest foundations are composed of sticks up to four feet long and three inches in diameter, mixed with sod. The lining is usually grass, bark, or vines, but an assortment of odd materials has also been found inside: shirts, shoes, rope, fishnets, fishlines, hats, dolls, bottles, sponges, etc. Since the nest is used by the same pair year after year, it grows with each additional twig, and a majority of old nests show grass growing amid large mats of sod and cow dung. Sometimes nests reach eight feet high and may be used consecutively for thirty years before the supporting tree, often long dead, collapses under the weight.
Two to four eggs are laid in May, followed by a month's incubation by the female. The young stay home for about two months, during which time the following procedure can be observed: the male, grasping a fish, drops onto the nest and tears the food into half-inch pieces, gives them to his mate bit by bit, who then chews some more and feeds the young.
While the nestlings are still downy, hot summer temperatures can make them uncomfortable, panting like dogs, so the females stands overhead with wings out to shield them. By the time they are six weeks old, the parents drop whole fish into the nest, and the nestlings feed themselves without fighting. Instinctively they soon learn to fish on their own.
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Image courtesy of Peter Wallack - Birds of Sanibel |
The osprey is a peaceable, if not accommodating, neighbor with most other species; there are many accounts of house sparrows, starlings, or grackles living in the lower sections of a huge osprey nest. But the species has a torrid history with bald eagles, who often rob ospreys of their catch in mid-air. And crows suck the eggs dry whenever they get the chance. Over all, though, it's Homo sapiens (humans) that has the direct influence on whether or not the osprey attains its twenty-year lifespan. DDT may be gradually vanishing, but so too are prime fishing grounds.
There is more information on the decline of the osprey population due to the chemical poisoning caused by DDT, PCB, and other chlorinated hydrocarbons lingering in the environment dating back to the 1950's. For more information read Eastern Birds of Prey, A Guide to the Private Lives of Eastern Raptors by Neal Clark, North County Press Unity, Maine. Copyright 1983 by Neal Clark, fourth printing, 1990. All information about the osprey in this biography has been obtained from the afore mentioned source. Illustrations were obtained via the public domain. Photos were obtained by permission from Peter Wallack and his 'Birds of Sanibel' website.