Walking through the salt marsh, it’s easy to get distracted by the flowers growing along the trail and the small birds that flitter past. Your eyes follow the sandpipers and kingfishers until they fly out of sight. Even the changing color of the marsh grass can take your focus until suddenly you see them: the raptors of the marsh.
Ospreys are unmistakable, even at a distance, by the manner in which they hover in one place as they target their prey in the water. There are many fish here, some even breaking the surface of the water with their movements. Once a fish is sighted, the osprey will dive head first into the water to get it. They’ll do this again and again until they are successful. They hit the water with such force that they can break a wing in the process.
Bald eagles have a more varied diet but still rely on fish for 90% of their diet. Unlike ospreys, they don’t dive into the water, but instead use their talons to catch fish that are swimming close to the surface.
Eagles are also known to steal fish from the smaller ospreys. Snowshoe hares, red squirrels, voles, snakes and ducks may also find themselves on an eagle’s breakfast menu.
This year I’ve seen as many as four adult eagles flying at the same time in the marsh. I also saw four flying together last fall. Immature eagles are brown speckled with white and do not have the characteristic white head and tail until they reach their fifth year. There are probably some juveniles in the marsh as well.
It is not uncommon to see eagles in flight around the Salt Marsh Trail. Unlike the gulls, crows and sandpipers, they are very quiet and will patiently sit on a roost for long periods of time. It’s also quite easy to get distracted by the flowers and simply walk by them, unaware of their presence.
August 21, 2009 at 10:16 am
We live on wetlands much like your first photo, and the wildlife is amazing. This is what we will miss the most when we move back home in a few days.
August 21, 2009 at 11:40 am
Bella, there is such a diversity of life in wetlands. For years these areas have been considered wastelands and in many places have been filled when land becomes scarce in coastal cities. Such an area would certainly be missed.
August 21, 2009 at 10:47 am
Maybe you know this, Amy, as I’ve always wondered about it….why do seagulls torment and pester bald eagles? Around here, I often see three or four gulls swarming around a flying eagle – just picking on it, it seems to me.
I love the photo of the marsh!
August 21, 2009 at 11:45 am
Cindy, bald eagles will prey on gull chicks in nesting areas. Numerous adult gulls will harass the eagles in an effort to drive them away from the young.
Similarly, blue jays will often gang up on an owl during the day. People may think the jays are being cruel, but the jays know that the owl will prey on them and their young at night when they’re asleep.
Squawking and a flurry of activity among birds is often an indicator of a bird of prey stalking in the vicinity.
August 22, 2009 at 5:00 am
I especially love your photograph of the osprey against that slightly pink grey cloud. Beautiful.
August 22, 2009 at 6:56 am
Thanks Anne. I had wanted to show more of those beautiful pink clouds in the photo, but that would have made the osprey look even smaller.