{"id":14633,"date":"2014-03-27T05:32:08","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T11:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14633"},"modified":"2025-05-20T08:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T13:40:17","slug":"my-love-of-ospreys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/27\/my-love-of-ospreys\/","title":{"rendered":"My Love of Ospreys"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Osprey in flight with prey at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah – Nikon D300,\u00a0f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 800, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Three days ago a first of the year sighting from the UBIRD group got me all excited because it means that the Ospreys have returned to Utah! North American Ospreys winter in Central and South American and southern sections of California and Florida and are found on every continent except Antarctica.<\/p>\n

Personally I have seen Ospreys as far south as the Caribbean and as far north as Alaska. In Virginia they arrived about mid-March and their arrival always seemed to coincide with the return of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (a double delight) and when I lived in the Tampa Bay Area they were year round residents.<\/p>\n

Here in Utah Ospreys nest at many of the freshwater lakes and reservoirs including the Flaming Gorge<\/span> Reservoir<\/a> in Daggett County and now that I know they have arrived I will be listening for their calls<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is a pond near where I live that Ospreys visit at times and if I have my windows open there is a possibility of hearing them as they fly overhead.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Osprey in a defensive posture at Honeymoon Island State Park, Florida – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 300mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I love hearing the call of Ospreys, watching them dive for fish, seeing them soar high overhead, mate, rear young and in flight with prey. I love the striking contrast of their light and dark plumage, their yellow eyes and huge talons. There really isn’t any thing I don’t love about them.<\/p>\n

I think I was spoiled in Florida because I saw and heard them year round but here in Utah I eagerly look forward to their return in the spring and when I spot my first of the year Osprey I find it hard to contain myself.\u00a0I can barely wait\u00a0until I see my first Osprey of 2014!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Osprey\u00a0are also called Sea Hawks, Fish Eagles, River Hawks and Fish Hawks.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Osprey photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three days ago a first of the year sighting from the UBIRD group got me all excited because it means that the Ospreys have returned to Utah!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,981,25,468,466,26],"tags":[4004,763,4432,4390,4052,4122,3992,4189,4106],"class_list":["post-14633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area","category-florida","category-honeymoon-island-state-park","category-ospreys","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-defensive-posture","tag-fish","tag-flaming-gorge-reservoir","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-osprey","tag-pandion-haliaetus","tag-prey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-fish-flight-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3O1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5112,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/06\/01\/female-ospreys-have-flare\/","url_meta":{"origin":14633,"position":0},"title":"Female Ospreys Have Flare!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay. At least this female Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is landing with flared wings and tail!","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Flat"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Flat","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-flat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Osprey landing on nest, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-female-landing-mia-mcpherson-4924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-female-landing-mia-mcpherson-4924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-female-landing-mia-mcpherson-4924.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-female-landing-mia-mcpherson-4924.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8387,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/05\/18\/ospreys-of-flaming-gorge\/","url_meta":{"origin":14633,"position":1},"title":"Ospreys of Flaming Gorge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year at about this same time these Ospreys were busy building their nest while this year they were already sitting on eggs at Flaming Gorge.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The beauty of Flaming Gorge as seen from the boat launch at Antelope Flat, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4880.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83073,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/01\/utahs-ospreys-are-back-for-their-nesting-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":14633,"position":2},"title":"Utah’s Ospreys Are Back For Their Nesting Season","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I was hoping to find my first of the year Swainson's Hawks yesterday but instead I spotted my first of year Ospreys.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female and male Ospreys on their nest, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-on-the-nest-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4843.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-on-the-nest-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4843.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-on-the-nest-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4843.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-on-the-nest-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4843.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7603,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/22\/nesting-osprey-pair-at-flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area\/","url_meta":{"origin":14633,"position":3},"title":"Nesting Osprey pair at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It is cloudy and snowing hard outside this morning so I dug into my files and edited these nesting Osprey images I took last year at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Osprey about to land on the nest, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-female-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4923.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-female-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4923.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-female-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4923.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ospreys-female-flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-4923.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6133,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/19\/the-osprey-vs-the-black-billed-magpie\/","url_meta":{"origin":14633,"position":4},"title":"The Osprey VS the Black-billed Magpie","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In May of this year I camped at Antelope Flat in the Flaming Gorge National recreation Area and near the boat ramp there was an Osprey nest.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Osprey \u2013 Black-billed Magpie Fish Fight, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-black-billed-magpie-fish-mia-mcpherson-4349.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-black-billed-magpie-fish-mia-mcpherson-4349.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-black-billed-magpie-fish-mia-mcpherson-4349.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":124317,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/15\/eyes-on-the-sky-osprey-migration-is-underway\/","url_meta":{"origin":14633,"position":5},"title":"Eyes On The Sky – Osprey Migration Is Underway","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It is time for me to keep my eyes on the sky because Osprey migration is underway. Online, in the past week, I've seen them being reported in Montana and Idaho.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Osprey on spring migration, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-urban-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3769.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-urban-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3769.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-urban-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3769.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-urban-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3769.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}