An Osprey Odyssey
A bad day to be a fish. A good day to be me.
For as long as I can remember, ospreys have been one of my favourite birds of prey.
With their bandit-like eye stripe and spiky haircut, they’re the rockstars of the raptor world.
The scientific name, Pandion haliaetus, is still lodged in the back of my mind after memorising it as a child. I also recall being impressed by its wingspan of up to 1.8 metres, as I got out my tape measure and meticulously laid it on the living room floor, dwarfing my miniature self.*
*I had the last laugh as I have now outgrown even the largest osprey wingspan.
But enough about my strange childhood. Let’s get back to my (adult) pursuit of photographing this majestic bird.
Back from the brink
Ospreys, like many birds of prey, were in dire straits not too long ago in the UK. In fact, they were pushed to the brink of extinction during the 19th and early 20th centuries, thanks to hunting and egg theft.
By 1916, the osprey was considered extinct in Britain. Yet, in 1954, birds from Scandinavia returned to Scotland naturally and started breeding again.
Some sites, like the famous Loch Garten, became reliable breeding spots, yet continued egg collection…
