Osprey

Danish: Fiskeørn Swedish: Fiskgjuse Norwegian: Fiskeørn Icelandic: Gjodur

Faroese: Fiskaørn Greenlandic: ? Finnish: Kalasääski German: Fischadler

French: Balbuzard pêcheur Spanish: Aguila pescadora Italian: Falco pescatore Arabic: Nesser El Samak

Sorry, I have no picture of an osprey.

Physical Characteristics: Size: Build: Wings and tail: Wingspan: 145-170 Colours: White and dark Voice: Is almost only heard in the breeding season, where it is 'pjieb-pjieb'. Easily confused with: None Range: Northamerica, Southamerica, Northern Europe, Mediterranean coast, large parts of Asia, sporadic on the coasts of Africa, Australia, Tasmania, the islands of the pacific ocean. Population: Growing in Europe. The Scandinavian population is large and 53% of the westpalearctic population. Still endangered in the mediterranean. The population has probably been declining since the late 18th century, when raptors became vermin. The osprey became extinct in several regions of Europe, including Denmark, the british isles, Germany and central europe during the 19th and early 20th century. Migration: European ospreys spend the winter in Africa. In Scandinavia migration starts in the middle of august. By sept.-oct. most have reached the mediterranean. Habitat: Everywhere with plenty of mediumsized fish near the surface of clear unpoluted water. In the westpalearctic it spends its breeding season in woods near lakes, slow-flowing rivers or coasts. Mediterranean ospreys stay by the coasts. Breeding: Starts breeding at the age of 3-5 years of age. As the individual ospreys become strongly imprinted on their habitat, they are mostly monogamous. The males arrives first at the breeding territory, and starts their very characteristic mating-flight. It mounts to a height of about 300 m, 'flicks' its wings about, and dives steeply 10 m, mounts again, and so forth. Nests are most frequently build in the top of trees, but are also common on cliffs in southern Europe. The height of the nests varies from 3-10 m in Scandinavia, to 10-30 m in southern Europe, but both higher and lower placements are seen. Both birds participates in the nestbuilding - however, the female does most of the nest-building, while the male brings building materials. 1-4 eggs are laid, usually in intervals of two days, in april-may for Scandinavian birds, and march for more southern birds. The female does most of the incubation, which lasts for 37-41 days. The nestlings are ready to fly at an age of 7-8 weeks, but stay dependant of the parents for a considerable amount of time - sometimes for as long as two months. Food: Almost exclusively fish. Only if fish are unavailable, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects are taken. Hunting technique: Towers in a height of 20-30 m over the water-surface. On sight of prey, it dives with wings half-folded towards the surface. Just before impact, it thrusts its feet forward and will occasionally disappear under the surface of the water. The prey is usually taken by the head, and is then carried away to the birds preferred eating-place, usually in a tree. Occasionally the fish is too large for the osprey to carry away. If it can't quickly let go of the fish, it will drown, and anglers can on rare occasions catch a fish, frequently a pike, with the legs of an osprey sitting on its back.