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Osprey
Pandion haliaetus | Visarend | Águila pescadora
The only European raptor that plunges feet-first into water and lifts a fish clear of it. Over Dutch lakes it is almost a daily sight in August and September, while still barely breeding in the country.
Voice
At the nest and over hunting water a series of clear, slightly plaintive whistles: pyew-pyew-pyew, quickening as the bird becomes agitated. Heard mainly from April to July on the breeding grounds; migrants are usually silent.
Recording: British Library — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Identification
Long narrow wings with a marked kink at the carpal, giving a flattened M in gliding flight. White below with a dark carpal patch, a barred tail and a dark eye-stripe across the white head. Females show a heavier brown breast band; juveniles have pale scaling above and an orange eye.
Confusion species
At range it is mostly confused with a large gull: note the kinked arm, the dark carpal patches and the slow rowing beat. Hovering, it resembles no other raptor; Buzzard is more compact and broad-winged, and White-tailed Eagle is far larger with plank-like wings.
Habitat
Clear, fish-rich water: large lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, coastal lagoons and fish farms. Nests in tall dead treetops, on pylons or on artificial poles, often some distance from water; on migration it will fish at any suitable pool.
Range and movements
Breeds in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Russia, Scotland and scattered across Germany and France; the Netherlands has held a handful of pairs in the Biesbosch for some years but is mainly a busy migration corridor. Winters in West Africa, with growing numbers staying in Andalusia and around the Mediterranean.
- Resident
- Breeding (summer)
- Winter
- Passage
- Migration direction
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
Where and when to look
Mid-August to mid-September, early morning over big lakes and fish ponds. Look for a bird hovering high with legs dangling; wait for the plunge and keep watching, because after a catch it shakes the water from its plumage in flight.
Conservation status
Clearly recovering across Europe since DDT was banned and persecution eased; nesting poles and artificial platforms have speeded the return. Threats include disturbance at the nest, drowning in fishing nets, turbine collisions along migration routes and illegal shooting around the Mediterranean.