This is the hollering juvenile female osprey that was in my post a while ago. I just got back to scanning that day’s work. We can all see why she was screaming. The chunk of fish tightly grasped in her right talons was what she was protecting! BTW average wingspan of an osprey is 5-6ft.
Today I want to give you a close look at the eye color of the juvenile osprey. The eye is a bright orange. Note the white points on the flight feathers of a juvenile. I know that she is a female by the broad brown chest band she has (some females only have a single line of dots) – this young lady has a beautiful necklace.
Mom Osprey needs to replenish her body and probably her spirits before she leaves for South America on the fall migration. Every once in a while two ospreys will sight the same fish at almost the same time. Mom osprey got to the fish before the male osprey did. The better part of valor makes him float up and over her and out. She happily hauls her fish away.
My first sighting of one of this year’s fledgling ospreys! She is beautiful and her dark many layered necklace says I am female.
Ospreys are one of the most daring fishers on the lake. This mama osprey actually dove in between the two walls of the dam’s tailrace to pick up a fish for her breakfast. I always catch my breath and hold it when I watch an osprey do this daring dive! I hope you enjoy the sequence. Jordan Lake, Moncure, NC, March, 2025
Jordan Lake. It is 23 minutes after sunrise. Mom Osprey has gone fishing and is returning to the nest area to feed her two fledglings. They’ve been out flying and trying to catch fish on their own but she is quite willing to help them along – especially first thing in the morning with a nutritious breakfast.
doc ellen's journey 