
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 23, 1993                   TAG: 9305200207
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PATRICIA HELD
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OSPREY ARE OFTEN SIGHTED AROUND BODIES OF WATER

Few birds are as exciting and beautiful to watch as the osprey. Soaring overhead or sitting motionless on its nest, it commands attention.

Unlike some birds that remain hidden and are rarely seen, if an osprey is around you will know it. The bird's contrasting dark and white feathers and black mask set it apart from other hawks, and its hovering flight is distinctive. Also, listen for the osprey's unique cheeping whistle-like call.

Usually the osprey is found around water. While most people associate the bird with our coastlines, Smith Mountain Lake, the James River, and even local ponds and lakes support osprey.

Each March, like clockwork, just before the 15th, osprey return to our small lake. We watch as the bird cruises high in the air above the water looking for fish swimming near the surface. Upon sighting its prey, it stops in mid air, hovers with its body held vertically and its wings beating rapidly, then plummets down into the water. Its feet hit the water first as it grabs at the fish.

Rough and horny growths on the inside of its toes give it a firm grip, and its powerful claws remain clinched onto the slippery fish as it flies off. Watch how the bird flies with its prey. It usually carries its fish parallel to its body to avoid drag when flying. This bird has truly earned its nickname, the "fish hawk."

On occasion the osprey shares its waters with an eagle. When this happens the osprey must fish for two. The eagle is larger and more powerful. Once the osprey has caught a fish the eagle swoops down from above and forces the osprey to drop its dinner. The eagle then claims it as its own.

The osprey's nest is a huge affair set high on a treetop, on top of a telephone pole or a mooring post. The nest is constructed of tree limbs. When the osprey returns each spring it comes back to the same nest. And each year it enlarges and improves it.

The nest is so large that other birds make their homes in its nooks and crannies. I have watched as a house sparrow has nested and raised her young just beneath the osprey and its family. Although the osprey will drive crows and other hawks away, it does not seem to mind some of the smaller birds residing nearby.

As a predatory bird the osprey fills a vital role in the natural world. A valuable ally to aquatic life, the osprey helps maintain healthy water conditions by balancing the fish population, much the same as other hawks control the small mammal populations on land.

There was a time not too long ago when the osprey seemed doomed in many parts of the country. DDT and other pesticides wiped out many populations of predatory birds including the osprey. Animals at the top of the food chain ingest the greatest amount of the poisonous chemicals that are in the atmosphere and tend to suffer the most.

While here in Virginia the osprey was not in great trouble, in other areas the sight of an osprey became very rare. Today, thanks to the intensive efforts of researchers and wildlife managers the numbers are stabilizing.

Patricia Held will respond to readers' questions on the plant and animal wildlife in the region. Mail inquiries to: Patricia Held, P.O. Box 65, Goode, Va. 24556.

Patricia Held is a Bedford County free-lance writer and author specializing in natural history.

by CNB