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Blogs > scubadiver6911 > Cuddy cabin fun!!

Is it an Hawk or Osprey?  

scubadiver6911 93M
43 posts
11/24/2011 10:11 am

Last Read:
11/21/2017 9:15 am
Is it an Hawk or Osprey?
This afternoon I spotted an osprey way up an Australian Pine with a fish in his claws, across the river from my dock! I got my camera out and tripod to take telephoto pictures of it but my battery was too low so had to charge the battery real fast! So I was lucky to get these shots!

The common names of birds in various parts of the world often use hawk in the second sense. For example, the Osprey or "fish hawk"; or, in North America, the various Buteo species (e.g., the Red-tailed Hawk, B. jamaicensis).

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts, with a black eye patch and wings.

The Osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.

As its other common name suggests, the Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It has evolved specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. Four subspecies are usually recognised. Despite its propensity to nest near water, the Osprey is not a sea-eagle.

In February 2005, the Canadian ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian "IQ" in terms of their innovation in feeding habits.[1] Hawks were named among the most intelligent birds based on his scale. Hawks are widely reputed to have visual acuity several times that of a normal human being. This is due to the many photoreceptors in the retina (up to 1,000,000 per square mm for Buteo, against 200,000 for humans), an exceptional number of nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea, which magnifies the central portion of the visual field.[2][3]

[edit] References1.^ EurekAlert! Public News List:Bird IQ test takes flight - Dr. Lefebvre's AAAS presentation - Feeding innovations and forebrain size in birds (Monday, February 21,
scubadiver6911 93M
174 posts
11/25/2011 11:36 am
    Quoting  :
Behind my home, I live on a canal and across the river there is no seawall with a lot of trees and tall vegatation so it is very natural. I see schools of mullet swim near the surface of the water so I guess the Osprey grabbed one!


scubadiver6911 93M
174 posts
11/25/2011 6:29 pm
    Quoting  :
Yes, at good old Lickerdale!


scubadiver6911 93M
174 posts
12/12/2011 5:23 pm

 Thanks for your nice comment, Sandra!


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