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Osprey

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are large, eagle-like raptors that prey almost exclusively on fish. While very few of these birds currently nest in our area they've become fairly common migrants in the spring and fall.

Ospreys have been persecuted birds. Until the 1970's they were usually shot on sight when they made a rare public appearance in the mistaken notion that they somehow hurt fish populations. A far more serious threat to their numbers was posed by the widespread use of DDT. As the top avian predators of fish they accumulated large concentrations of DDT in their systems which resulted in a dangerous thinning of the shells of their eggs - a problem to which Ospreys were particularly susceptible. Eggs that were successfully laid would more often than not be broken while they were incubated. In some populations as much as 95% of the eggs laid never hatched. As a result Osprey populations plummeted precipitously. However since the ban on the use of DDT and similar chemicals the population has begun a slow recovery and, while still rare, these birds are encountered far more often now than in the past.

Ospreys have become a problem in some areas because of their reliance on fish as their principal food. In Louisiana and Mississippi catfish farmers in particular have seen serious declines in production when large groups of these birds gather around the breeding ponds and prey on the farmers' fish. Since the birds are currently a protected species the farmers are finding it difficult to keep them out of their ponds. So far this hasn't become a serious problem in our area, although the one place I've most commonly encountered these birds is in the trees surrounding a local fish farm.

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