A Glimpse of an Osprey Before it Flies South for the Winter

Thursday, 29 September 2022, 9:41 am Lisa Music 5 comments

a young osprey looks toward the camera while perched on a snag with a small fish underfoot

[Photo by Ann Constantino]

Local wildlife photographer, Ann Constantino caught a late season sighting of osprey with its breakfast. Osprey are migratory prey fowl that overwinter in the southernmost areas of the U.S.

Constantino, through her Facebook page and Flickr account, share stunning photos of wildlife on the north coast. She shared this caption along with her encounter with the young osprey:

Young Osprey brings its catch to a snag leaning over the river not far from me this morning. It ate the whole fish unmolested, but kept a wary eye the whole time. The video shows how the bird consumes the fish from head to tail, tearing off bits with a twisting motion. Many bits seem intentionally discarded. Toward the end of the video the splash is a few Mallards arriving below the Osprey. Other birds you can hear in the video are Steller’s and Western Scrub Jay, Western Tanager, Northern Flicker, and Song Sparrow.