Perched Osprey

Here's another photogenic bird of prey, an Osprey. I've seen them before at Duke Farms and elsewhere, though AFAIK they don't breed in this exact area. My recollection is that this Osprey was up a tree overlooking one of the Duke Farms lakes. My guess is that the Osprey was in the process of migrating south for the winter - the picture is from last October - but stopped here to rest and do some fishing.

Placing Ospreys within the taxonomy of birds is difficult. It's the only living species in its genus and family. Its closest relatives are believed to be hawks and eagles, but it seems unlikely it'll ever to reclassified as either.

Are Ospreys seahawks? When people aren't talking about seahawks other than the Seattle Seahawks, Ospreys are a candidate for the bird they're talking about, but seahawk doesn't really refer to any particular species of bird.

October 7, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 249884878, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)




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