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Birds @ Wings
American Crow
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Blue Jay
Canada Goose
Common Loon
Golden Eagle
Great Blue Heron
Great Horned Owl
Lewis' Woodpecker
Osprey
Pine Grosbeak
Red-tailed Hawk
Rufous Hummingbird
Steller's Jay
Swans
Warbling
Verio
Western Meadowlark
Wood Duck
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Osprey
 Identifiation
Familiar to many of us living in the Kootenays, the Osprey is a large,
long winged bird of prey (raptor) that is dark brown above and white
below. Males are mostly all white below; females have a necklace of dark
streaking and both have a prominent dark eye streak. Viewed from below the
dark wrist patches of the underside of the wings can be seen. In flight,
the Orprey's long narrow wings are bent back at the wrist much like a
gull's wings. Common call is a loud, whistled kyew kyew kyew kyew kyew
Photo by Levine Ollenberger
Habitat
Having a diet almost exclusively of fish, the Osprey lives near lakes,
rivers, sloughs and protected coastal waters. It is in or near these
habitats that the Osprey builds its bulky nest of sticks atop trees,
snags, poles, pilings, and platforms. Nests are used for long periods; one
record in the Kootenays was 11 years of use.
Schedule
Ospreys arrive in the Columbia Valley with the opening of frozen lakes and
rivers from March onwards with most arriving in April. After their young
have fledged and as autumn arrives the Ospreys fly to southern and coastal
waters during Sept / Oct.
Field Notes
The sight of an Osprey diving from 30 metres, talons outstretched as it
attempts to snatch its fish prey from the water is an inspiring image that
has the mesmerizing power of distracting us from what we are doing
(hopefully not driving!) at the time. Weighing an average 1.2 kg to 1.75
kg the Osprey has been recorded carrying fish of up to 1.75 kg. The lower
surface of their toes are covered in spicules that help them grip slippery
fish. Osprey are long lived, 20 years on average, oldest was 35! Their
nests have been recorded at 400 kg in weight. Why are they building a nest
in fall? - Adults add to the nest in
anticipation of returning the following year. Although circumpolar in
distribution the Kootenays are a centre of population concentration for
Ospreys
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