On a few occasions, I have watched an osprey fly down to the water’s surface and drag its talons in the Lake. What was it doing? My guess was that it was trolling. When the surface is rough or dappled with rain, the bird cannot easily find fish. Why not just fly along with the talons in the water and see what might be caught? However, I recognized a problem with this explanation: its talons were cupped the wrong way to make a catch.
It wasn’t until I showed the first picture to Derek Kite, that I learned the more likely explanation: he suggested that the bird was washing its talons. Derek noted that he had only ever seen this behaviour when it had just finished eating. Indeed, the second picture was taken just before the first, and shows the same osprey finishing off a fish.
So, does anyone know what is going on?
An osprey drags its talons in the water, presumably to clean them after eating.
Just prior to doing this, it polished off a fish. Rain has made the feathers glossy.
