A Bald Eagle Attacked an Osprey

An osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was a victim of a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) attack on Sunday afternoon, March 22, 2020.  The bald eagle may have attacked the osprey trying to defend his or her territory or because of what is called kleptoparisitism when one species steals food from another.  The osprey came to the ground after the attack and was stuck in some bushes.  FODMers Rich Rieger and Sherman Suter extracted the bird and Rich wrapped it up in his coat.  Despite some bleeding, the osprey settled down and Rich placed the bird on a picnic table.  After a moment, the osprey took flight, seemed normal to the human eye and landed in the top of a tree.

This spring, as of March 24, we have at least five active osprey and three active bald eagle nests in Dyke Marsh. 

You can view the rescue in this video by Rich Reiger.