Osprey
During his time out on Topsail Island, The Fuzz got a chance to see types of birds that we don't have here in the Carolina Piedmont. One of such was the Osprey.
Now "Ospreys" were mentioned in a previous post.
But this was a whole different thing.
One afternoon The Fuzz was out and about with a bike and a book. To be truthful, as nice as Topsail Beach is, there are not really a lot of places to hang out in the off season.
This day Our Fuzz had rode over to one of the public access sites on the sound. As he was reading he became aware of a fairly large bird that wasn't a gull landing on a nearby piling. Alas, uncharacteristically, he had no camera with him. But he did have his binoculars!
And he spent a good while watching this obvious raptor finishing off it's dinner.
Back at the hotel, he looked it up in the "Bird Book" and found that it was the namesake of that unique aircraft.
But then sometime later he had returned to this same bench - this time with a camera.
And although he certainly didn't expect it...
Look who was back!
At first he had not noticed it.
But as he watched the activity there in the bird world, he saw what had their attention.
It seems that everyone wanted a piece of the action.
But they weren't gonna get it.
Some of the disappointed ones were these Fish Crows.
The Fuzz had seen these guys around but didn't know exactly what there were. They reminded him so much of "normal" crows, but they were just too small and sounded just a little different.
But in the "Bird Book" he saw why.
They were crows... sorta.
But this post is about Ospreys!
None of these moochers seemed to bother our raptor.
He just went about his business of dinner.
And then took off!
Of course he took the rest of his dinner with him.
Looks like his neighbors will have to live with disappointment this time.
And The Fuzz watched as he crossed over...
...And went back to his home in the marsh.
That kinda made the day for The Fuzz.
And this time he got the pix too!
And The Fuzz thinks you might like to see these "Fun Facts" below.
"Ospreys are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of the birds' feet help them grip slippery fish. When flying with prey, an Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance."
"Ospreys are excellent anglers. Over several studies, Ospreys caught fish on at least 1 in every 4 dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. The average time they spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes—something to think about next time you throw your line in the water."
"Fish Crows are inveterate nest-robbers, raiding the nests of many kinds of waterbirds and songbirds, as well as finding and digging up the eggs of turtles. They also harass and steal food from crows, gulls, ibis, and Ospreys."
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