Osprey Pandion haliaetus FALCONIFORMES: Pandionidae-5 Jan 14, Dighal Village Near Jhhajar, haryana
A trip to Dighal has been rewarding during the last two years. A trip on the on the 5 jan 14 was rewarding with two great sightings. At the end of the trip Rakesh took us to see the lone Common Shelduck.
When we reached in the morning I was reminded of the Osprey hunt seen last year and was checking with Rakesh if the Osprey was active this year-yes he says it normally hunts in the morning. Just then a Raptor circling on top of the water body caught my attention-A Osprey. It was circling and hovering looking for the fish in the water below. Made an attempt two or three times but abandoned the dive. After about 3 min we saw him fold his wings and went into the dive. It hit the water and disappeared under water, and after a struggle lasting about 4 sec out popped the head and after another 7-8 sec struggling on the water surface he finally lifted out of the water with the fish in its talons, almost dragging it back in to the water. A few powerful flaps and it was clear of the water with the catch.
As I was sorting the images of the Osprey adventure, a program on the TV caught my attention-which was on the three power full hunters-The hyena, the shark and the Osprey. Osprey is what I was interested in. Two comments were striking of the Osprey. The Osprey normally gets a catch equal to its own wt. or less. What happens if the fish is greater than its own wt and he is not able to lift the fish out of the water.
When the Osprey goes in to the dive the talons are pushed forward and the front and back talents point inwards. As it hits the water/fish the talons are embedded into the fish like a jaw.(see image with Osprey talons shown), once the talons are embedded the Osprey has to lift out, if the fish is bigger than what it can carry the Osprey cannot let go of the fish nor lift off the water-which turns into its grave. Though this will happen I have not heard of the Osprey drowning because of the fish it caught-The remarkable eye sight and excellent judgement of the Osprey ensures that the fish is within its capacity to catch and lift off the water.
The Sighting at Dighal was the second time in the last 9 years of birding to watch the most amazing action, both the times at Dighal. Saw the Osprey in Chennai with the catch but missed the hunt. The entire action is what one looks forward to seeing in the wild and be lucky to photograph.
Some images follow.
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