OSPREYS ON THE DART O


THE FISHER KING


spreys are a modern con- servation success story. Driven to extinction by


egg collectors and hunters in the 19th / 20th centuries, breeding ospreys disappeared from the United Kingdom until in 1954 when two birds returned to Loch Garten in Scotland. Since then, thanks to the enormous efforts of the RSPB and other conservation organisations, the UK population has grown to over 300 pairs and each year they can be seen on the River Dart as they migrate to West Africa. Humans and ospreys have fished


the same lakes, rivers and estuaries for tens of thousands of years and as a result these birds have long captured peoples’ imaginations. Tey are, and have long been seen as special birds. Over the centuries we have given them a variety of names including


River Hawk, Fish Hawk, Sea Hawk and Mullet Hawk while Osprey is thought to be derived from the Old French “ospreit” for bird of prey. Its scientific name Pandion Haliaetus comes from a fabled king of Athens whose daughters were turned into birds, Halos meaning sea and aetos meaning eagle. Ospreys were also revered by Aristotle and Shakespeare. Ospreys are


neither eagles nor hawks and belong to a scientific family all of their own. A large brown and white fish-eating bird of prey, they are what is known as an apex predator. Virtually everything about their physiology is geared to making it the perfect hunter. Te mostly white underside


“I cannot


remember if it caught a fish or not, but the thrill of seeing that osprey remains with me to this day.”


osprey through the water against a pale sky. Its legs and feet are especially adapted to catch, grasp and hold a fish, its nostrils can be closed and the eye has a clear protective membrane which is deployed just before hitting the water. Oily feathers prevent the osprey from getting waterlogged, and its eyesight is incredible. Depending on


prey and weather conditions the osprey will vary how it hunts. Te most common


method is to hover about 40m above


the water. Once a fish is spotted, they either dive makes it difficult for fish to see the


down at high speed hitting the water with a splash, in some cases going completely under, or swoop gracefully down and pluck their quarry from the water before


BY MIKE LANGMAN


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