Osprey - Sierra Club BC
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Osprey

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Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

Appearance

Osprey females are generally larger than the males. They have dark band markings on their eyes and under their tail wing. Known as fish-hawks, these raptors can often be found gliding on their five-foot wingspan around coastal areas. 

Range & Habitat

This migratory species travels to South America for the winter and returns north in the spring to mate. They like to nest on shoreline structures on lakes, rivers and estuaries, close to their source of food (fish).

Reciprocal relationships

Ospreys are dramatic hunters, diving into the water, locking their claws around their prey and only food source: fish. Some ospreys have drowned while going after large fish because their claws could not unlock before they were dragged under the water. These raptors help maintain ecosystem balance by managing fish populations and introducing nutrients from ocean ecosystems to terrestrial ecosystems. 

Ospreys normally mate for life in their fifth or sixth year, and the parents partake in rearing the young. The females protect and incubate the eggs while the males hunt for fish. A pair will often return to the same place each year to mate. The female produces three to four eggs in early April in large nests designed to conserve heat. Chicks can fly on their own within eight weeks. 

The osprey represents a huge conservation success! Historically, ospreys have been prime targets for hunting, and lost their habitat due to coastal development. Furthermore, in the 1950s to 1970s a pesticide called DDT caused a major decline in their population. Since banning this pesticide and legally protecting osprey nests, these populations have continued to rise! 

Status

COSEWIC: Not Reported 
CDC: Yellow 

More Information

If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca

Photo Credit

Canva

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