Wednesday, October 10-- Just after sunrise, eagle steals fish from Osprey

[NewMexiKen]

This is the first in a sequence of nine photos. Mary Lou and I had seen this Osprey catch a fish in the large body of water in the Harbour Lakes mitigation preserve, but it was still too dark for photography. I did get a shot of the Osprey with its fish as we were headed back after our "power walk" in the wetlands near our home.



Three times in the last couple of weeks, one of the Pembroke Pines Bald Eagles has appeared overhead shortly after sunrise, en route from the nest area to the largest lake in our Sunset Lakes subdivision. This morning we kept a sharp eye out for it, as it seems to fly earlier on clear days, probably because of better visibility for hunting. We were out before sunrise, which occurred at 7:18 AM, and sure enough, the eagle showed up at 7:38AM.



I got ready to photograph it as it approached, but it suddenly veered our way and took a 180 degree turn. Within a second or so it went into a dive, right towards the old utility pole where the Osprey was dining.



Since it had dropped so low out of sight, I had to run back and shoot through the high grass along the path, so my photos are not very good. It took me a minute to find the eagle, which was now chasing the Osprey far out over the lake.



It took only two seconds for the eagle to close the distance between them. Note that their wing spans are almost the same-- the eagle is slightly nearer. Osprey wing span ranges between 50 to 71 inches, while Bald Eagles range between 71 to 90 inches. Our Florida eagles are smaller than average, and the male is smaller than the female, so it is likely that this is the male of the Pembroke Pines pair.



Within five seconds, the Osprey dropped the fish, and the eagle doubled back to retrieve it.



Now the Osprey turned and began chasing the eagle. They were low and out of range, but I saw the eagle ascend over the treetops as the Osprey backed off. Only 1 minute and 9 seconds have elapsed from the time I first saw the eagle overhead.



This is the last in a sequence of nine photos. The Osprey flew back to roost on the pole, now without a fish.All this happened in the space of four minutes!

[Mike Fossler]

What a great event to happen upon!!!

Nice job capturing the sequence to share with us.

MF

[Lauren Leon]

so glad to see the eagle back , hopefully we will se two