On my way to my Maine Master Naturalist course in Farmington, I saw an osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on a low perch at the causeway — usually, they prefer much higher hangouts, so I got a really good look at him. The wind was blowing, which ruffled the feathers on the back of his neck, giving him a crest. It was very distinct, as if it were wearing one of the Roman helmets with plumage. According to a Scottish site Scottish Wildlife Trust the crest stands erect when the bird is highly alert. Here’s a picture from the MacAulay Library collection that gives a sense of what I saw. The actual osprey I saw had black and white markings, and just a hint of brown.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust site also notes that female ospreys can be 20 percent larger than males. They have wingspans of about seven feet. It’s helpful to become familiar with their profiles to quickly identify them and distinguish them from bald eagles or turkey vultures.
Osprey are most at home in high trees or pole tops that overlook the water. I have been told on several occasions that after an osprey catches a fish, it rises into the air, releases it momentarily and then catches it again. What explains this behavior? According to my sources, if they catch a swimming fish in a position that can’t be sustained for a long flight back to the nest, it adjusts its grip to position the fish headfirst for better aerodynamics. Catch and release … and catch again.
Later in Farmington, we were treated to a small flock of bobolinks in a meadow while investigating wildflowers. I’ve always been intrigued by Bobolinks since first reading about them in Thornton W. Burgess books, and it was a real delight to see them flitting through tall grass and fence rails.
Almanac
Today’s Forecast: Rain, heavy at times.
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