Species Spotlight: Osprey
If there is one species that marks the beginning of spring on Long Island, it’s the Osprey! Our local fish-eating raptor, has made its way back to our area after its spring migration from South America! Ospreys are a common sight soaring over shorelines and standing on their huge stick nests!
Osprey populations suffered a devastating crash from the 1950s-1970s due to the poisoning effects of pesticides. Exposure to pesticides such as DDT and PCBs resulted in the production of thin eggshells and loss of chicks. The species' decline was halted by pesticide bans and construction of artificial nest sites. Today the Osprey is a conservation success story as populations have increased every year since the 1972 U.S. DDT ban.
Check out our Digital Education Initiative for Osprey activity sheets, family resources, and more!
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
Ospreys have brown wings and a brown back, while their underside is white.
Ospreys fly with a marked kink in their wings, making an M-shape when seen from below.
The Osprey is the only hawk on the continent that eats almost exclusively live fish!
Ospreys large stick nests can often be spotted atop utility poles, artificial platforms or tree tops.
Osprey
Scientific Name: Pandion haliaetus
Identification: Ospreys are very large, distinctively shaped hawks. Their bodies are slender, with long, narrow wings and long legs. Ospreys fly with a marked kink in their wings, making an M-shape when seen from below. Their wings and back are brown, while their underside is white. Their head is white with a broad brown line through the eye, and a black strongly hooked beak.
Diet: The Osprey is the only hawk on the continent that eats almost exclusively live fish! More than 80 species of fresh and saltwater fish account for 99% of the Osprey’s diet. They are able to dive about three feet under the water’s surface in order to catch their prey.
Habitat: The Osprey is found in temperate and tropical regions of all continents, except Antarctica. Its habitat includes almost any areas of shallow, fish-filled water, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, lagoons, swamps, and marshes. Ospreys require nest sites in open surroundings for easy approach, with a wide, sturdy base and safety from ground predators. Their large stick nests can often be spotted atop utility poles, artificial platforms or tree tops.
Find this Species: The Osprey is a common sight along Long Island shorelines early spring through fall. Look for them near open water with an abundant supply of fish! From spring into fall, scan treetops and other high spots along the shore for perched adults and nests piled atop a platform or a pole. You can also listen for the Osprey’s whistling or chirping calls overhead!
Interesting Facts: Ospreys are one of the few raptors that will migrate over water. In a lifetime, an osprey can log up to 160,000 migration miles!
Ospreys have a reversible outer toe and barbed pads adapted for catching slippery fish in their talons.
The average lifespan for the Osprey is 15-20 years and they lay clutches of 1-4 eggs.
Ospreys pair for life and usually return to the same nest every year to lay their eggs.
Osprey eggs do not hatch all at once. Rather, the first chick emerges up to five days before the last one.
During breeding season, males perform an aerial "sky-dance". Often clasping a fish or nesting material in his talons, the male alternates periods of hovering and shallow swoops, as high as 600 feet or more above the nest site, before descending to the nest.
Check out this episode of On The Water & In The Field to learn even more about Ospreys!