Ospreys and Crows
I’m hanging
on the beach on the beautiful Jersey Shore watching ospreys. Ospreys, or sea eagles, are incredible fisherbirds. They soar along the shore line and then out
to sea and back looking for menhaden or small blue fish…actually any fish that
they can spot and then reach with their talons.
It is
difficult to tell when an osprey has caught a fish. They turn it around in their talons for best
wind resistance and it is hard to tell from the ground if they have a fish or
not.
I have
pretty much figured out the tell-tail sign that the bird has grabbed a
fish.
If it is
flying fast over the beach and heading to its nest on the bay, it has a
fish. I know this because the osprey
will hunt until he has a catch. He does
not go home empty handed, so if he is headed home, you know he has dinner in
his claws.
The other
tell that the osprey has a catch, is he flies extra fast for his nest. Over the ocean while searching, he wings
slowly or glides with the wind currents saving energy. I often wondered why, once the osprey has a
fish, he races so quickly back to his nest. Why does he still not try and conserve energy?
The other
day I saw the reason why this king of the ocean sky races back to his nest.
Crows.
Crows will
spot an osprey and try and make him drop his catch. Oh, the osprey could kick the crows butt, he
is bigger and faster, but to kick crow ass, he would have to drop his
catch. A catch that he may have spent
several hours to spot and several attempts to grab. The osprey is not willing to drop his catch
to fight the crow, he would never recover the fish he worked so hard to catch.
I watched as
the osprey rose high and then fell, changed directions left and right while a
crow would not quit in its harassment. I
did not see who won this air battle, I like to think the osprey made it to his
nest with dinner for his family.
It did make
me think that the world outside of our human experience is not that
different. You can work your butt off,
but still have to be concerned that some scumbag will try and steal from you,
steal by overpowering you, steal by identity theft, steal by unfair taxing,
steal by selling you bogus products.
The world is
a tough place for both man and beast. We
all have our ospreys and we all have our crows.
I guess the
crows have their place, I guess they have a purpose, but I will always root for
the osprey.
About the only bird I have ever seen that can consistently make an osprey drop its fish is a bald eagle 🦅
ReplyDeleteI will always root for the successful hunter and never for the lazy thief who just waits around in hopes of stealing the result of the other's hard work.
ReplyDeleteI love Ospreys, but I love Crows too, and crows love fish I suppose, but don't have the talons for catching them. Or do they?
ReplyDeleteNice that you worked out the telltale for knowing when an Osprey has a fish, and now that we know, it seems such a simple way of knowing and why didn't we realise it sooner?
Being landlocked, we don't have ospreys around here. We have crows the size of chickens. I've not seen them bothering other birds, but they look menacing, and I'd just as soon they didn't congregate in a tree and watch me.
ReplyDeleteI always think of crows as devious creatures. I used to think they were lovely until I saw one stealing food.
ReplyDeleteThey are fascinating birds. Each year they nest down by the Guelph Lake....there are several hydro poles with nesting platforms attached and they are always full. Sometimes we park the dar down there and watch them...the babies poke their heads up looking for dinner and soon enough it arrives air express.
ReplyDeleteThieves bug the tar out of me, too. Including those who try to steal the credit for your work!
ReplyDeleteCrows are nasty birds, but super intelligent. I've read a lot about how they will recognize human faces and plot revenge if you do something to one. Not kidding!
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn’t see that coming but well said Joe.
ReplyDeleteR
This made me think of the movie "The Birds"!!
ReplyDeleteReally great observation Joeh. Not too sure I'd have made the connections. Sadly, that behavior does bleed over into the human creature.
ReplyDeleteCrows are supposed to be just about as smart as birds come, but yeah, I think I would cheer for the osprey as well.
ReplyDeleteI say, let the crow get his own fish! Liked your analogy with people. Hope we’ve moved beyond the basic survival of the fittest mentality and the end justifies the means, but I think nor.
ReplyDeleteGo, osprey, go! I've seen them carry fish that were larger than they were. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen an osprey but crows remind me of that hideous movie The Birds that still scares me to this day!
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