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3-in-1: This osprey caught a shark that was eating a fish

BY Earthtouch News; APRIL 24 2018Wildlife photography requires a keen eye, an intimate knowledge of your equipment, and – sometimes – a healthy dose of good fortunate. Florida photographer Doc Jon recently snapped a few images of an osprey soaring above Madiera Beach only to realise when reviewing his photos at a later stage that the raptor was clutching a shark in its talons. The shark meanwhile – in a scene that resembled some kind of weird avian-piscine matryoshka doll – had its jaws firmly clasped around a fish.

Jon uploaded the incredible images to his Facebook page where they quickly gained a lot of interest. “When I got home and opened [the photos], my first thought was 'Woah! That’s a shark in his talons!'" Jon told WFLA about his reaction to realising what he had captured. "But then I saw the fish and I literally laughed and said, 'No way!' I couldn't believe it."MADIERA BEACH-IN THE TAMPA/ ST. PETE MARKET

The waters around Florida are home to a number of shark species and it’s unclear from the photo evidence exactly which one this osprey plucked out of the Floridian fish buffet. It appears to be a juvenile, though, which can make the identification process a bit tricky.

Ospreys (also known as seahawks) are large, fish-eating raptors in the hawk family. They are unique among North American hawks in that fish make up 99 percent of their diet, so glimpsing one preying on a shark – although rare – is not entirely surprising. These aerial acrobats are sometimes seen plunging from heights of 40 metres (130ft) in pursuit of a meal, which they cling onto using reversible outer toes and spines behind their talons. These adaptations help the birds maintain grip while carrying their prey in flight.

It's a common misconception that raptors cannot release their talons from their prey and, while ospreys are capable of hanging on to some impressively large quarry, they do occasionally drop a meal (usually resulting in very confusing reports about fish raining from the heavens). This catch, however, looks small enough to be carried off with ease, even with the additional weight of the shark’s prey.

While it may seem like something of a predatory role-reversal, birds do sometimes prey on sharks. Few smaller fish (including sharks) are safe from the stabbing talons (and beaks) of birds of prey. Blue Herons, for example, are masterful hunters and will readily snaffle up sharks if they are available, using their spear-like bills to skewer the unsuspecting fish. And then there's that video of a flock of pelicans squabbling over a shark meal (although it remains unclear how the birds bagged the fish in the first place).

Perhaps even more bizarre is just how many birds have been eaten by sharks. While sea-faring birds sometimes fall victim to marine predators, back in 2012, ecologists studying the diets of tiger sharks in the Gulf of Mexico were surprised to discover that everything from woodpeckers to swallows were present in the stomach contents of the local shark population. Sadly, humans are probably to blame. Migratory birds sometimes travel thousands of miles en route to their overwintering destinations and back again, and to help them find their way they use moonlight and starlight to calibrate their internal compasses. The illuminated oil platforms that pepper the gulf may be disorientating the birds leading them to eventually plummet into the ocean out of exhaustion, where tiger sharks readily gobble them up.
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Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Pandionidae
Genus: Pandion

ICUN Redlist - World Status:

Least Concern

Description

The osprey has a wingspan of 4.5 to 6 feet and stands about 2 feet tall. It is brown on its upperside and white on its face, the top of its head, throat, chest, and belly. It has a dark line on the side of its face that runs over its yellow eyes. The osprey has powerful legs and pale gray feet with sharp talons that help it catch fish. The osprey's feet have rough, pointed scales on them that help the osprey hold onto the fish it catches. Its feet have two toes pointing backwards that also help the osprey grab and hold onto fish. The osprey is also known as the fish hawk.

Range

The osprey is found on every continent, except Antarctica. In North America, the osprey breeds from Alaska, north-central Canada, and Newfoundland south to Arizona and New Mexico . It is also found along the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific Coasts. It winters from the southern United States south to South America.

Habitat

The osprey is found on lakes, rivers, and seacoastswhere there is shallow water and plenty of fish!

Diet

The osprey hovers about 100 feet over the water and uses its excellent eyesight to spot fish. When it locates a fish, it dives feet-first with its talons outstretched straight into the water and grabs its prey. It takes off from the water and adjusts the fish in its talons so the fish is facing head first. This makes the fish more aerodynamic and easier to carry! The osprey then flies to a perch to eat its catch. Sometimes, bald eaglessteal fish from ospreys! Once in a while an osprey captures a fish that is too big. If it can't let go of the fish, it tries to drag it to shore. If that fails, the osprey can be pulled under the water by the weight of the fish and drown.

Life Cycle

Osprey pairs build large nests of sticks lined with seaweed, grass, and other soft materials. Nests are always built within a few miles of water and are usually built 10-60 feet above the ground. Nests can be built on a variety of natural and man-made structures including dead treetops, cliffs, telephone poles, channel markers, communication towers, buildings, billboards, and specially designed osprey nest platforms. Nest platforms have been placed in areas where osprey numbers have dropped in an effort to lure the bird back.

Osprey nests are used to raise chicks and also as a home base for adults. Osprey pairs use the same nest for many years. The male brings food to the female before she lays her eggs. The female lays 1-4 eggs over a period of a few days. Both the male and female incubate the eggs for about 40 days. The chicks are covered with down when they are born. Both parents feed the chicks. If more than one chick is born and food is scarce, the runt of the brood may die of starvation. Chicks fledge when they are between 50-75 days old and can begin hunting on their own, but they may continue to receive food from their parents for two months.

Behavior

The pesticide DDTled to a drop in osprey populations between the 1950s and 1970s. The pesticide DDT, which was used to control insects that damaged crops, was getting into the food that the osprey ate. The pesticide made it more difficult for the osprey to absorb calcium and the lack of calcium made the shells of the osprey's eggs thinner. Many eggs broke before they could hatch and the osprey population dropped. DDT use was outlawed in the U.S. in 1972, and the osprey population has slowly recovered.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018