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Osprey

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Description

Found near water nesting high on sticks or trees, ospreys are large hawks with slim bodies, narrow wings and long legs. Adults are brown on top and white beneath with a brown stripe running across their yellow eyes on an otherwise white head. When flying, their wings create an M-shape. Ospreys are excellent anglers, diving in shallow water to grab fish with their talons. Producing one brood per year, the parents (mostly the female) incubate the eggs for about 38 days. Once hatched, the parents feed and shelter the young for nearly two months. Ospreys currently are a species of low concern, having rebounded from lower population numbers during the use of the pesticide DDT. Climate change and urbanization are changing the availability of habitat.
Osprey