"Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom?... Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?" (Job 39:26-27).
The osprey (also called fishing hawk), with a five- to six-foot wingspread, is a pretty bird in the hawk family. It is shiny brown above, but parts of its head and neck are yellow and white. The underparts of its body are plain white, including its heavily feathered legs. It is very impressive with its erect head and sharply curved beak.
These birds are found in many countries. In America they spend summers from Labrador to Florida and Alaska to California. Most migrate to Central America for the winter.
Ospreys do not have songs; they have high-pitched whistles. They feed only on fish, which is why their homes are near lakes, rivers or ocean shores.
Their huge nests are a mass of sticks, usually lined with grass or seaweed. They use the same nest year after year, always adding to it until it may reach three feet high and three feet wide. Before so many forests were cut down, trees were a favorite nesting place. From high branches they could look down into the water and choose their fish targets. But now many build nests on telephone poles, roofs of barns, posts in water, etc. Helping solve this problem, naturalists build platforms 30 feet or more above the water, and the ospreys find these good substitutes.
Others build nests on rocks as high as 300 feet. It is quite a sight to see one take off from this height, then dive feet first into the water to snatch a luscious fish in its strong talons. It carries the fish back home in its talons, perhaps eating a few mouthfuls on the way.
The male migrates north again in early spring, soon followed by his lifelong mate. Returning to the same nest, they clean it and add to it. Soon they have three or four little ones to care for. The mother stays with the young at all times, and the father provides all the food. The little ones eat so much they become heavier than the parents, but return to normal size before learning to fly.