osprey flight

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By Jordan Lake Ospreys: Shelter Nest, 4 photos, 04-05-2019
The Shelter Ospreys are Busy!
 
We humans often have to stop construction on our homes when it rains.
 
Osprey Dad isn’t letting a shower slow him down as he brings nest lining home.
 
 
On the other hand, um talon, maybe he is a little put out with the rain.
 
 
Oh, well, he has settled in, waiting for Osprey Mom to arrive.
 

By Jordan Lake Dam: Chase 4 photos, 03-19-2019
Uh, oh, ever have one of those days when no matter which way you turned, it was the wrong way?
The osprey was trying hard to keep the year-old bald eagle from stealing it’s fish.
 
 
The osprey noticed the incoming, much more dangerous, problem before the immature eagle did.
 
 
Then the immature bald eagle realized there was another challenger for the osprey’s fish.
 
 
The adult bald eagle came in on a steep dive.  The osprey dropped its fish.  The younger eagle made a try for the falling fish.
The adult bald eagle stalled out of its dive, hovered and missed the falling fish too.  Oh, my.
 
 
 

By Jordan Lake Dam: Osprey Dive, 6 photos 03-16-2019
Osprey dive at somewhere between 30-50 mph on average.
 
The dive goes like this:
 
Fish spotted and instant flight path changed from horizontal to vertical.
 
 
Picking up diving speed by becoming completely vertical.
 
 
Preparing horizontal attack path.
 
 
Plow into the water.
 
 
Climbing out of the water.
 
 
Heading home with breakfast.
 

By Jordan Lake Dam: Osprey Shake 03/13/2019
Ospreys go in, I mean often way deep under water when fishing.
The dive picks up a lot of water on the body of the osprey.
Water weighs 8.35 pounds per gallon.
Flight calls for a bird without an excess load to haul into the air.
Ospreys do a shake to shed the excess water. The shake is just like what a wet dog does.
The shake starts at the beak and twists through to the tail.
Here you can see the osprey is ahead of the spray and the shake has gotten almost to the tail feathers.