Bird of Prey

Does anyone know what this bird is. I apologize for the graininess of the picture. I've tried to find it on the web but am clueless. I saw this and a mate nesting in Collins Branch on Lake Blackshear, thought it was eagles at first, totally wrong after looking at the picture. The birds were quite large.

Ken

Osprey??

Hooked On Quack said:

Osprey??

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Thanks,

I looked them up and that is exactly what they were. It was a huge nest and we're pretty sure there were hatchlings in the nest, they kept coming in and leaning down like they were feeding young.

Ken

Osprey for sure.

Gary Mercer said:

Osprey for sure.

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Thanks Gary,

They are definitely Osprey, I looked them up on the web and a perfect match. They were beautiful and the nest was huge.

Ken

Chief31794 said:

Thanks,

I looked them up and that is exactly what they were. It was a huge nest and we're pretty sure there were hatchlings in the nest, they kept coming in and leaning down like they were feeding young.

Ken

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I saw the same nest last week.They nested there last year also.Definitely Osprey!

What is a really good sight to see is when they go fishing and you see them dive down and catch a 2-3 lb bass in their talons and begin to gain altitude back up to their nest.

As I drove along the elevated roadway across the lake, I looked right out my window and watched as one caught a nice bass and flew upward with the fish just flopping like crazy as it returned to their nest. One day, I also saw one with a snake that was about 3-4 ft long dangling in its talons as well. It was quite a sight to watch these Ospreys perform so efficiently.

I have seen that several times while traveling across Little River Bridge on Clark's Hill Lake. They had a nest built on top of one of the large metal power poles that crosses the lake there. The nest was ultimately destroyed by a severe storm and it has never been rebuilt.

If a person wants to see a lot of Ospreys,go to the St. Johns river.I've fihed out of Astor,Florida several times and seen many Ospreys.The run between Astor and Lake George is thick with them.You can see nest building,nest sitting,hunting, you name it.There are Bald Eagles there too,as well as manatees,and heaps of gators.Oh yeah,bream as big as saucers!Wish it wasn't so far and so expensive to stay there.

fishfryer said:

If a person wants to see a lot of Ospreys,go to the St. Johns river.I've fihed out of Astor,Florida several times and seen many Ospreys.The run between Astor and Lake George is thick with them.You can see nest building,nest sitting,hunting, you name it.There are Bald Eagles there too,as well as manatees,and heaps of gators.Oh yeah,bream as big as saucers!Wish it wasn't so far and so expensive to stay there.

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I used to fish out of Blairs Jungle Den there in Astor. Beautiful area and you are right, I saw three different Bald Eagles make a dive and catch fish on one run up to lake George one morning right about daylight. The manatees are every where in the St. Johns, I think they are so ugly that they're cute. They are a very interesting animal. I grew up in Jacksonville on the river and I've fished it from top to bottom and Gators are just a fact of life, we have plenty here in SOWEGA as well. I love all that wildlife and it makes a day of fishing even more enjoyable. Talk about expensive back in the 90's we were paying $1.00 a piece for wild shiners 12-14" I wonder what it would cost today?

Ken

we stayed at Blair's 2 weeks ago. i think the osprey's were catching more fish than we were.