Osprey heading south soon...

 

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Osprey are heading south to their wintering grounds in the southern United States, Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

In the summer they are found coast to coast across Canada, except for a small portion of southern Saskatchewan.

Here in southern Ontario, I am close to the south end of Lake Simcoe and have found a place in nearby village of Keswick, where Osprey ahave been nesting in high baseball park light towers for several years (see photo below).

Ospreys, also known as the "fish hawk", are common in most coastal areas and lake districts, less so in inland areas.   They soar high above water (10 to as much as 30 metres high).   They hold fish with both feet, stop to shake water out of feathers, point the fish head forward to decrease wind resistance, move top their perch and feed their young.  

1 brood of young per year is normal, but I have seen Ospreys raising second broods in nests near to open water and high above the ground, as seen above, atop tall light standards at sports parks.