The Osprey page contains 50 portraits, flight shots and flight studies of the
Fish Hawk (also placed in the same family as Falcons and Eagles). The shots
were taken at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in California and Ding Darling Wildlife
Refuge on Sanibel Island Florida, plus a few at Yellowstone National Park.

Click an image to open a larger version.
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Raptor Section Index

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Eagles     Red-Tailed Hawks     Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier        Falcons & Kites        Osprey

Osprey 0208

A Northern Osprey hunting in an overcast sky at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

Ospreys are in a family and genus by themselves (Pandionidae), but they have
often been placed in the same order as Falcons by some taxonomists, and in the
same order as Eagles and Hawks by others. Some taxonomists who place the
Osprey in the order Accipitriforms with Eagles and Hawks also place it in the
family Accipitridae with Eagles, Hawks, Kites, Harriers and Vultures. The
controversy is ongoing and has contributed to the variation in common
names for this raptor (such as fish eagle, fish hawk, sea hawk, etc.).

Osprey Hunting X5203

Osprey Hunting X5206

The Osprey is a large fish hawk, which dives on its prey and carries it to a nearby tree to eat.
As the common name suggests, the Osprey feeds primarily on fish, and is a consummate hunter.

Osprey 0403

A Northern Osprey hunting in the skies over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge (Southern CA).
Ospreys are superb anglers, capturing a fish on at least 25% of their dives (as high as 70%).

Osprey Flight at Sunrise 9779

Osprey Flight at Sunrise 9780

Two images of Osprey hunting at sunrise over Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Osprey with Prey 0806

Osprey with Prey 0807

An Osprey carrying what looks to be a Knifejaw over Sanibel Island, Florida.
Notice that the Osprey has rotated the fish so that its head is facing forward.
When flying, Ospreys orient fish to face forward, reducing aerodynamic drag.

Osprey with Prey 0806 0807 XL

A 1600 x 990 version of the XL Composite image (3216 x 1935)
showing a Northern Osprey carrying a fish over Sanibel Island, Florida.

Osprey with Prey 9052

An Osprey perched in a tree with a Trout, over the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park.

Osprey with Prey 8720 M

Osprey take their fish into trees to eat them. This one, taken from across the
Firehole River at Yellowstone National Park, was worried about the long beak
on the end of my camera and took off with its fish, giving us another opportunity
to see how the Osprey orients the fish forwards to reduce aerodynamic drag.

All of the landscape (horizontal) large version images linked from the thumbnails are 1500 pixels wide.
Portrait (vertical) images are 1200 pixels tall (1290 pixels with title bar). Images designated with an “M”
in the shot number are 5:4 aspect ratio, 1500 x 1290 with a title bar, or 1500 x 1200 without a title bar.
A few portrait images like the one above are designated “M”, and are 1500 pixels tall (plus title bar).

Osprey with Prey 8721

While in-flight, Ospreys orient the fish to face forward to reduce drag, as is
shown in the images above and below (taken at Yellowstone National Park).
To do this, the Osprey carries the fish with one foot forward and one behind.

Osprey with Prey 8722

The Osprey is unusual in that it has a single species living worldwide (even the four subspecies are similar).
 Its toes are of equal length, and like the Owl it can reverse the outer toes to grasp its slippery prey with two of its
toes in front and two toes behind for a more secure grip. They have barbed pads on their feet to help them grip.

Osprey with Prey Flight Study VLG

A 2000 x 775 version of the VLG Composite image (3500 x 1325) showing a
Northern Osprey carrying a trout over the Firehole River at Yellowstone National Park.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Eagles     Red-Tailed Hawks     Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier        Falcons & Kites        Osprey

Osprey Hunting 0214

A Northern Osprey hunting in the skies over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

Ospreys fly with slow, steady wingbeats on slightly bent wings or soar in
circles over shallow water looking for prey. Unlike Bald Eagles, which pluck
their prey from just below the surface, Osprey can dive deeper to capture prey,
and can close their specially-adapted nostrils to keep water out during a dive.

Osprey Hunting 0220

An Osprey soaring on slightly bent wings, scooping air for greater lift.

Osprey Hunting 0224

Osprey Hunting 0231

Ospreys are white with brown streaks and bars below and are all brown above,
with a brown eye mask reaching to the neck. They are lighter than most raptors.

Osprey Hunting 0229

Properly exposing a back-lit Osprey at mid-day can be challenging, as you need to balance
overexposure of the sky and highlighted areas while revealing shaded feather detail and the eye.

Osprey Hunting 0241

Osprey Hunting 0242

An Osprey looking up during its flight back to the starting point for another sweep of the area.

Note the kinked wings on the image above right. The drooping position of the wingtips is similar
to that of a gull, and the extremely flexible joints of the Osprey allow it to use a wing to shade its eyes
when flying directly into the sun. Its eyes are specially adapted to allow it to see fish below the surface.

Osprey Hunting 1345

A Northern Osprey soaring directly toward the viewer at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in Southern California.

The Northern Osprey is a conservation success story. From the 1950s to the 1970s Osprey populations
crashed due to widespread use of DDT pesticides, which poisoned the birds and thinned the eggshells,
preventing the hatching of young birds. In some areas, populations dwindled to 10% of the previous level.
Studies of the drastic reduction in the Osprey populations provided support for legal arguments against
the use of persistent pesticides, and contributed to the ban of DDT in 1972. The Osprey population
rebounded, although there are still issues caused by tree removals and shoreline development.

Osprey Hunting 1346

Osprey Hunting 1348

An Osprey beginning the turn for its sweep across the sky over the pond at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

Osprey Hunting Flight Study SXXL

A 1600 x 943 version of the SXXL Composite Flight Study image showing a
Northern Osprey hunting over Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in Southern California.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Eagles     Red-Tailed Hawks     Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier        Falcons & Kites        Osprey

Osprey Ding Darling 0798 M

Osprey Ding Darling 0796 M

A Northern Osprey scanning the area from its perch at Ding Darling Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Osprey on a Stick Ding Darling

Photographers commonly call shots like these with a bird on a bare vertical branch a “Bird on a Stick”.

Osprey Ding Darling 0501 M

An M-sized portrait of an Osprey perched at the top of a tree on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Osprey Ding Darling 0506

Osprey Ding Darling 0530

It is unusual in my experience to have a chance to capture close-portraits of a perched
Osprey, but I had several opportunities at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.

Osprey Ding Darling 0537 M

An Osprey poses for a portrait atop a tree at Ding Darling Refuge on Sanibel Island.

Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge is part of the largest undeveloped Mangrove ecosystem in
the United States. The refuge was named for the cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling,
who twice received the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartoons. Well known for political and
conservation cartoons, he was an important figure in the early Conservation Movement,
who first conceived of the idea of the Federal Duck Stamp and drew the first design.
Appointed as head of the US Biological Survey by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1934, he began the legacy of protecting natural habitat across the US. When
the Fisheries and Biological Survey agencies were combined and joined the
Department of the Interior in 1940, becoming the Fish and Wildlife Service,
he saved the Mangrove ecosystem from sale to developers by arranging
for the Fish and Wildlife Service to lease and later buy the land to form
the Sanibel Island Wildlife Refuge, now considered as one of the top
ten birding locations in the US and one of the most visited refuges.

Osprey Ding Darling 0550 M

An Osprey surveys the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge from atop a tree on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Eagles     Red-Tailed Hawks     Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier        Falcons & Kites        Osprey

Osprey 1569

Osprey 1584

Some of the best Osprey shots I have ever acquired were taken of this bird above a
small river just inland from the mouth, where it met the Gulf of Mexico. The background is
busy, but this is one of those rare opportunities where the bird is not too far above eye level.

Osprey 1585 M
1200 x 1590 (492 KB)

An Osprey poses on a limb in the Mangrove Swamp on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Osprey 1573

Osprey 1597

In many images of this particular bird, you can see the unusual outer toe of the Osprey,
which it can reverse to allow it to grasp its prey with two toes in front and two in the rear.

Osprey 1591 M

An M-sized image of an Osprey staring down the photographer while perched on
a limb in front of a background formed by the Mangrove swamp on Sanibel Island.

Osprey 1632 M

Osprey 1634 M

1632 (left) is a resized crop from the 3:2 aspect ratio full-size image. 1634 (above right) is resized down
from the 5:4 aspect ratio full-sized image (a 3:2 aspect ratio version of 1634 is also available in full-size).

Osprey 1637c

Osprey 1649c

The two images above are resized crops from the 3:2 aspect ratio full-sized images.
A number of portraits of this photogenic Osprey are available in VLG size (2500 pixels).

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Eagles     Red-Tailed Hawks     Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier        Falcons & Kites        Osprey

Osprey 1639c

The Osprey cocks its head, curious about the clicking noise of the camera.

Osprey 1641

The Osprey poses on its branch in front of the Mangrove swamp, trying to decide
what it wants to do about the photographer with the long black beak on his camera.

Osprey 1651 M

Finally, after posing for a number of excellent portraits, the Osprey makes up his mind.

Osprey Display 1659 M

Osprey Display 1660 M

The Osprey decides to perform a display, spreading his wings to show how cool he is.

Osprey Display 1661 M

A Northern Osprey displaying on a limb in front of the Mangrove swamp on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Osprey Display 1662 M

A Northern Osprey performs a little twist to show both wings in the Mangrove Swamp on Sanibel Island.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Raptors Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Eagles     Red-Tailed Hawks     Assorted Hawks
Owl and Harrier        Falcons & Kites        Osprey

Click the Display Composite above to return to the Raptors Index
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