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Osprey
(Pandion haliaetus)
Photo Courtesy of Tom Pendleton
The osprey is at the top of the Bay's food chain. It has no predators.
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There are more than 2,000 pairs of osprey nesting in the Bay area today. The osprey dines almost exclusively on live fish and are sometimes called fish hawks,
They hover over the water at an altitude of 50 to 200 feet, then dive "feet first" into the water to catch its prey. Osprey have been known to nest on top of duck blinds, channel markers, roots of upturned trees, chimneys, school buildings and utility poles.
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See them up close!
Ospreys, or "fish hawks," are common from the spring through the fall at the Blackwater National
Wildlife Refuge. They use nesting platforms that have been placed throughout the marsh. Osprey and eagle interactions are interesting due to their competition for fish resources.
Blackwater National
Wildlife Refuge |
