Survival on the Fly
Reading by the side of Loden’s Pond in Quiet Waters Park, I was distracted by a considerable racket up above. Three osprey, I saw looking up, were dive-bombing an eagle.
This year’s baby osprey are still growing. By mid-September, they must be almost fully mature to make their long trip to the Caribbean and the Amazon, where they’ll spend their first two years. As the juveniles are not yet fully grown, they’re an appealing dinner to omnivorous eagles. To short-circuit that meal, mature osprey attack eagles.
The eagle has a size advantage in its six-foot wingspan over the osprey’s five-foot span. But the osprey is the more maneuverable bird.
As I watched, the osprey took turns attacking the eagle. As they dove, the eagle rolled over on its back, talons pointed skyward. The aerial battle continued across the pond eastward toward the Hillsmere Shores community. The spectacle, which lasted only 30 to 40 seconds, would have made an aerobatic pilot envious.