Osprey-Eagle Squabble

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Osprey-Eagle Squabble

March 23, 2023 by Mike Powell

I am not sure what was going on Tuesday in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but two Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were perched on a structure and an aggressive Osprey(Pandion haliaetus) kept dive-bombing them repeatedly. The osprey would fly by right above them and each time the eagles would rear up with their talons extended as they screamed at the osprey. I took the shot below from a long way away, but it gives you a sense of the action.

Several of my friends on Facebook suggested that this might have been a territorial dispute. Others posited that the eagles had stolen a fish from the osprey and the osprey was angry about it. Another friend provided a link to a fascinating article at Natural Habitat Adventures entitled “Eagles and Ospreys: When Birds of Prey Clash.” According to the article, eagles will sometimes steal osprey chicks and ospreys may attack eagles while they are eating. It is too early for there to be chicks—ospreys have only recently returned to our area—but it is certainly possible that this was a food fight.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on March 23, 2023 at 6:30 am | Reply Mitzy Bricker

Wow! Interesting.

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- on March 23, 2023 at 7:52 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I never know what I will encounter when I am out with my camera. There have been so many cool situations that I have stumbled upon over the years.
on March 23, 2023 at 6:44 am | Reply mschulzefishing

So a few years back while fishing with my wife we watched an osprey get a fish near our boat and shortly after a bald eagle dove on the osprey and while trying to get away the osprey dropped the fish and the eagle went and got the fish and flew off with the osprey harassing it as it flew away. It was awesome to witness just as I am sure yours account was also!
- on March 23, 2023 at 10:50 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for sharing your experience. I have heard that eagles will steal fish from osprey, but don’t recall having seen it in person. I figured that the eagles could bully the ospreys because they are bigger, but I guess osprey can be pretty feisty too. The scene I witnessed was awesome–my only regret was that it did not take place a bit closer to me. 🙂
on March 23, 2023 at 7:54 am | Reply Brian Hall

Great shot
- on March 23, 2023 at 7:53 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Brian.
on March 23, 2023 at 10:07 am | Reply Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography

Great catch, something you don’t see very often.
- on March 23, 2023 at 10:51 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ted. The action took place at quite a distance from where I was standing, but I was happy that I could more or less follow what was going on with my telephoto zoom lens.
on March 23, 2023 at 2:20 pm | Reply Jet Eliot

Great photo, Michael, and how exciting it must’ve been for you to witness. Both species are such big birds.
- on March 23, 2023 at 7:50 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Jet. It was pretty cool to watch. The osprey made quite a few runs at the eagles, but as far as I could tell, it was not able to get the eagles to leave the perch.
on March 26, 2023 at 9:34 pm | Reply Pepper

What a great image. 😊
- on March 27, 2023 at 8:06 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks so much. It took a little skill and a whole lot of luck to be able to capture an image like this. 🙂
  - on March 27, 2023 at 8:33 am Pepper
    
    Thinking it might have been been the other way around. 😉