Osprey Wingspan

I was working on my pictures for the Hornsby Bend Entry (Soon to Come!!) and when I got to the pictures of the Osprey that I saw, I really looked at the picture.  You know after I did the thing with the Bewick's Wren the other day, maybe I am paying more attention to what I am looking at.  Anyways, I thought that there was something funny about the way the pictures turned out. 

 It seemed that the wingspan of the bird was almost a caricature.  The wings were so long that it was like a dream sequence where your arms stretch like they were rubber. 

So I went to my Sibley's and looked at the measurements ( I never really looked at those thinking that I would ever use them, but here I am).  It turns out that the Osprey whose body length is 23" has a wingspan of 63"!!!! 

To compare, I thought that the Cara Cara that I saw just minutes before would be comparable.  It has a body length of 23" too, but the wingspan is a pitiful 49"!

It turns out that the Black Vulture doesn't even have similar wingspan.  It is 25" long with only a 59" wingspan.  Whereas the Turkey Vulture is 26" long with a 67" wingspan. 

So what do the Turkey Vulture and the Osprey have in common?  They both will glide without needing to flap their wings to maintain flight.  If you haven't seen an Osprey hunt, they will hover over the water like a kite on a string and then dive headfirst into the water and somehow catch a fish with their feet.  It seems that that is unique among raptors as Sibley says.  Sorry I don't have any good pictures of that happening... but I will eventually.

10:20 PM - June 8, 2009 - post comment

Effortless flight.....

I was watchnig a hawk the other day, in my backyard. It was being chased and heckled by a blackbird. The hawk just kept flying in a small circle, until it got to such a high altitude, that the blackbird left. The hawk then just held out his wings, gliding, in the same small circle, going higher and higher into the sky! How neat on a hot summer afternoon, effortless flight!.

Doug in clear lake city - 7:50 AM - June 11, 2009

Untitled Comment

magnificent birds!

Andy - 10:13 PM - June 12, 2009

Untitled Comment

Nice photos, Dave.
The Osprey is one of my favorite birds. At Point Reyes in California we could sometimes sit and watch 5 or 6 hunting at the same time. Quite thrilling.

jeffmoh - 6:18 AM - June 13, 2009