The Osprey is the iconic bird of Kootenay Lake. Indeed, summer often brings 20 to 30 osprey nests on the West Arm of the Lake. So, what better topic for frequent treatment? Here are three shots taken this morning while I was merely killing time.
“I’m home.” A male Osprey arrives at a nest, and the female barely looks up.
The female Osprey soars overhead and shows off the striking pattern of the underside of the wings.
A male Osprey flies by.
Alistair,
How can you tell the difference between the male and female? Females are larger? Males are prettier?
Janene
Janene, a fallible, but rather good indicator is the motley necklace the female wears. Every time I have been able to determine the sex by behaviour (such as during mating), the dark splotches between the neck and breast have always belonged to the female. Certainly, the females are larger, but that isn’t a good field mark when a single bird is seen at the distance. Juveniles also show this necklace, but there are no juveniles around at the moment, and there are other ways to determine that the bird is a juvenile.
Fantastic display.
It was great to meet Derek and you..
Wonderful, wonderful photos!! They are so beautiful in flight and I got quite a charge out of the last picture – looks like he was checking you and your camera out for a possible lunch. 🙂
I see it now, thanks Alistair!
Janene