tMo
The osprey. If you spend much time on or around the beaches of Goleta, you’ve probably seen these majestic birds soaring above you.
Remarkable animals, they live almost exclusively on fresh fish that they catch by diving down from high above and deep into the water, talons outstretched to grab the unsuspecting fish.
One fine winter day in Goleta, our friend Phil was enjoying a casual afternoon at his favorite spot. In between storms, the waves were small but fun and a few locals were out making the most of what was there. Phil was snapping photos to share with them as he always does. Like this one of Shane Scoggins enjoying a mellow glide.
Nature was out in force this day, and Phil was thrilled to capture the rare occurrence of a dolphin sharing a wave with one of the guys, as a pelican passed over.
The surfer is Teyler Sorenson, enjoying the moment.
There are few things that can stoke a surfer out as much sharing a wave with a true local. It makes you feel accepted by nature, at least for a moment.
And it’s also pretty exciting for the photographer that is lucky enough to capture the moment forever. But this wasn’t the only unusual thing that was going to happen to Photographer Phil this day.
Local girl Mariah Moon taking her foot off the gas to let the wave catch up. As Phil continued to snap away at the surfers, he noticed a splash in the lineup, which is usually the result of a pelican diving down to grab a fish.
But to Phil’s surprise, today’s splash was caused by an osprey, unusually close to human activity. Let’s break here to learn a bit more about these raptors….
While up in Central Oregon recently, I was lucky enough to notice this osprey nest in the midst of a lava field. Ospreys are unique among birds of prey because they build large nests on the tops of trees or poles near bodies of water. These nests can be up to six feet in diameter and are built from sticks, twigs, and whatever else works.
They are monogamous birds, and pairs will often return to the same nesting site year after year. The female osprey will lay one to four eggs, which will hatch after about 30 days. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and caring for the chicks.
According to the Audubon Society website, osprey are a “very distinctive fish-hawk, formerly classified with other hawks but now placed in a separate family of its own. Along coastlines, lakes, and rivers almost worldwide, the Osprey is often seen flying over the water, hovering, and then plunging feet-first to catch fish in its talons. After a successful strike, the bird rises heavily from the water and flies away, carrying the fish head-forward with its feet.”
So while they normally take back to flight with their catch firmly in talons, this guy was struggling.
Evidently, he got a bigger fish than he could take off with.
What a predicament. But it was plain to see, he wasn’t going to release his catch without a fight.
After he caught his breath for minute, he made another valiant effort to get airborne.
And that allowed us a quick preview of his large catch.
With one talon, the osprey had a death grip on what appeared to be a hefty rock fish of some sort.
But he couldn’t get enough lift to get up out of the water. So he started swimming towards shore, using his powerful wings to pull himself and his catch through the water. Then a set rolled through…
The osprey took a few waves on the head, but he was not giving up the fight.
Meanwhile, surfers kept on surfing, oblivious to the drama unfolding inside.
As the last of the set waves subsided, our tenacious bird of prey found himself getting washed up on the rocks.
Now he was in close enough to touch bottom occasionally, stroking with his wings and pulling himself forward with his one free talon.
Between waves, the tail of his meal was partially visible.
He was so close to safety, he could taste his fresh fish dinner.
Finally on solid ground, we get a clear view of the catch of the day.
A nice, fat Corbina. Enough to fill Mr. Osprey’s belly for a while.
Tired and disheveled, this was surely not the way his hunting expeditions usually went.
We had to wonder, what killed the fish? Talons in his flesh probably wouldn’t kill it. But on closer inspection, it appeared the osprey’s talons were keeping the corbina’s mouth shut, essentially suffocating him by not allow water to pass through his gills.
At long last, he could finally settle in and enjoy his hard won meal.
And then this guy showed up…
After all that work, our osprey friend was not going to share this meal with a seagull. So he gave him this look, which in bird language means, ” Back off sucker!”.
And he proceeded to dig into his succulent fresh caught fish dinner.
Nothing like enjoying a meal in a beautiful beachfront setting.
But seagulls don’t know how to take a hint. So he called a bunch of his seagull friends, and they gathered on the beach, watching and waiting for the osprey to share a little taste.
You could see the disgust on Mr. osprey’s face. He was not about to let anyone take this fish out of his powerful talons. Not after all he’d been through.
So he just ignored the unwelcome onlookers and enjoyed his meal until he lightened it up enough to carry it off into the sky.
A real dramatic day in the life right under the noses of the surfers preoccupied with catching waves.
Then Sam Schildhauer caught this nice one and Photographer Phil couldn’t take it anymore. He suited up and surfed ’til dark.
The next time you go surfing, don’t forget to look around and enjoy the wonders of nature. That’s a big part of the experience.
Thanks to Phil and Davey Powdrell for the photos!
Great story and pix. (Sometimes, a bird like this will get its claws stuck in the fish and be unable to let go.)
Thanks so much to Phil and Dave Powdrell for the wonderful photography and Tom for the fun article. This
and other essays by Dave about nature, barns, bees and family are my favorite pieces on Edhat. Was amazed to see the that the osprey caught a fish nearly to heavy to carry out of the water.
What a wonderful “catch” by the photographer. Ospreys are amazing.
Fantastic story and great pictures! I have seen plenty of osprey here and other places, but never seen one take a catch through the surf to the beach! Amazing what you can see if you pay attention. Thanks tMo!
Oh wo, that’s so cool! Looks like the Osprey caught a yellow fin croaker, what we used to (and still do I guess) call, “Ronkies.”
Thanks for posting this. Interaction with nature and wildlife is so special and something we need to prioritize protecting.
Not a yellowfin croaker, and not a “ronkie” either. Those are two different species, and this is a third member of that same croaker family – it’s corbina, just like the article says.
Great photos. That’s unreal to see, and to share with folks.
You’re totally wrong. Same thing – croaker and ronkie are the same thing. Always have been.
But yeah, may have been a corbina. Both species look similar in many regards.
Well…. maybe you’re right. How much time you spend researching that?
We called yellowfins and whites ronkies. Everyone did. If you grew up fishing here, you’d know.
Zero research. I grew up fishing here. Yes, Ronkies are white croakers. Yellowfin’s are much less common around here and I’ve never heard anyone call one a Ronkie. The point is the photo shows a Corbina, as was stated. Totally different fish. You’re mixing up 3 different species, but that’s fine. I just corrected you. Not worth getting upset, unless you want to.
Ronkie is a nickname we (and everyone I’ve ever fished with from shore, boat or pier) called yellowfins (and any other non-corbina) a ronkie. They are not a species, it’s a nickname. Like calling albacore and yellowfin both “tuna.” Ronkie comes from the scientific name, Umbrina roncador.
You can say what you want, but ronkies are what we all called them and still do.
And I didn’t say you’re lying, just that you’re not correct about what we used to call them.
Picked last for teams?
Sacjon-Did you know that the need to correct others is actually a symptom of something much larger than being a cranky troll? You might want to look that up and give us Edhat readers a break from all the hijacking of the comments sections.
PEBBLEHILL – did you read Basic’s comments?
Before you accuse someone of something, read all the comments. I corrected him only because he attempted to correct me. If you dont like it, don’t read my comments. Simple.
If you like this stuff, check out “nature is metal” on Instagram (unless you’re going to be offended by seeing animals doing what they do to survive). It’s amazing.
Why would anyone be offended by nature? Oh wait….unless a drag queen was standing in a forest I guess….LOL
Nature IS metal!
Oh, I guarantee some of the videos will upset some folks…”poor little rabbit!”, “why doesn’t someone step in and save that helpless animal?”. Stuff like that. It’s the opposite of PC, vegan, and DEI.
Amazing! Thank you!
Thank you, Tom! What a great story, and great photos. Lots happening out there in the real world, if we’d just pay attention.
My day started out crummy, but this story made my day!
Well Michele, your comment just made my day! Thank you!
I SO enjoyed your story and excellent photos ! Thank you very much for sharing it 🙂
The photo and accompanying observation of the ospreys talons wrapped around the corbinas mouth are especially cool. Aimed for the head, and succeeded. Adios corbina. The stuff you guys caught on camera here was a fantastic example of survival of the fittest. That predator should pass on some genes. Killer.
Great photos and tour to Oregon.
And what an odd camo pattern to the feathers?
But wonder how eating some of bird lightens the load.
Or total weight should be the same?
Or enouhg waste parts left in the sand? For the gulls.
But fish may be more aero dynamic inside stomach.
Another tossed staccato salad.
What an awesome bird. I’m glad it did not let those seagulls have his fish. Corbina is good eating too.
🫡 Tom. Those were great words you used. Thanks!