BIRD OF THE MONTH - Osprey

April 2026 - Osprey

Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish, Ospreys can be seen soaring over shorelines and standing on their huge stick nests. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons. You can often clearly see an Osprey's catch in its talons as the bird carries it back to a nest or perch.

They are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of their feet help them grip slippery fish. When flying with prey, an Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance.

Ospreys require nest sites in open surroundings for easy approach, with a wide, sturdy base and safety from ground predators. They readily build nests on manmade structures such as telephone poles and nest platforms designed especially for it. Such platforms have become an important tool in reestablishing Ospreys in areas where they had disappeared.

They do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. They have high-pitched whistling voices given as chirps during flight or as an alarm call. Most Ospreys that breed in North America migrate to Central and South America but a few overwinter in the southernmost United States.