{"id":46014,"date":"2017-04-06T05:33:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T11:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46014"},"modified":"2025-05-20T09:39:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T14:39:32","slug":"ospreys-of-honeymoon-island-state-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/04\/06\/ospreys-of-honeymoon-island-state-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Ospreys of Honeymoon Island State Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

The month of April reminds me that the Ospreys in Florida have already started their nesting season and that by now most of them have chicks that they are busy feeding.<\/p>\n

\"OspreyOsprey on nest on Honeymoon Island – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited <\/span><\/p>\n

I see Ospreys in Utah but not with the frequency or ease that I experienced while I lived in Florida, here in Utah the Ospreys seem to prefer high mountains lakes, reservoirs or rivers to nest close to and I don’t see them all that often down here in the valley.<\/p>\n

Honeymoon Island State Park<\/span><\/a> in Pinellas County, Florida is a great place to see and photograph nesting Ospreys, not just one or two nests either, there are often quite a few. Just take a hike down “Osprey Trail” and you will see and hear the Ospreys. The nests are high overhead in the pines.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Osprey in flight as the female watches – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 122mm, natural light, not baited <\/span><\/p>\n

I was once accused of “photoshopping” the male Osprey into the image above when I posted it on a sharing site. The person making the accusation didn’t seem to understand how depth of field works with long lenses. Or what bokeh is and how it can smooth out the background and that things that are on a different field of plane than the subject can look out of focus. Hopefully they learned about depth of field if they continued photographing birds and wildlife.<\/p>\n

I like this image because the male is sharply in focus, the perched female a little less so and how the billowing clouds, blue sky and of out focus trees in the background add a nice feeling of depth to the frame.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Osprey eating a fish on an old snag – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited <\/span><\/p>\n

It can be challenging to determine the sex of ospreys because they look so much alike but there are sexual differences in appearance. BNA<\/a> states this difference:<\/p>\n

“<\/em>Female<\/strong>. Similar to Definitive Basic male in plumage except dark markings on chin, breast, and sides of neck average greater, the subterminal marks on breast becoming larger, often distinctly paler at center of breast, where some feathers mostly medium brown”<\/em><\/p>\n

The female in the two images above barely had any markings on her breast and neck but because of observations I made while watching and photographing this pair of Ospreys I could determine their sexes because as this female ate her fish the male flew by her with a branch in its bill then once the branch was dropped into the nest the bird flew back to the perched female and mated with her. The male had no dark markings on his neck or breast.<\/p>\n

\"OspreyOsprey keeping a watchful eye on an intruder – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/500, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light, not baited <\/span><\/p>\n

Females usually do the incubation of the eggs but the males do take their turn at it too while the female goes off to hunt down her food. Sometimes the male will bring her food after the chicks have hatched.<\/p>\n

There are many locations across North America where Ospreys and Bald Eagles nest in the same general areas near lakes, ponds, reservoirs and rivers, both species do feed on fish though the Ospreys diet is nearly all fish while the Bald Eagles do include mammals in their diet. Great action can be observed when an eagle tries to steal a fish from an osprey or vice versa in action packed, high speed aerial fights. Have your shutter speed as high as it can go if you ever have the opportunity to photograph that behavior and interaction, you’ll need it!<\/p>\n

I know that Ospreys are moving through my area now and I hope to see them soon. I love to photograph these “Fish Hawks” whenever I get the chance.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Osprey photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

These images were all taken in 2008.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honeymoon Island State Park in Pinellas County, Florida is a great place to see and photograph nesting Ospreys, not just one or two nests either, there are often quite a few.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":145542,"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":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,468,466,2000],"tags":[4004,2663,212,4073,395,4070,4415,4052,4122,4062,2240,4075,3992,5780,6784,4189,4104,153,5781],"class_list":["post-46014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-honeymoon-island-state-park","category-ospreys","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-bokeh","tag-breeding-season","tag-depth-of-field-2","tag-female","tag-fish-hawk","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-male","tag-mated-pair","tag-nest","tag-osprey","tag-osprey-trail","tag-ospreys","tag-pandion-haliaetus","tag-perched","tag-raptors","tag-sexual-differences"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-female-eating-fish-florida-mia-mcpherson-9629.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bYa","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83073,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/01\/utahs-ospreys-are-back-for-their-nesting-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":46014,"position":0},"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":14633,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/27\/my-love-of-ospreys\/","url_meta":{"origin":46014,"position":1},"title":"My Love of Ospreys","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"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!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Osprey in flight with prey at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-fish-flight-mia-mcpherson-6020.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-fish-flight-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-fish-flight-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/osprey-fish-flight-mia-mcpherson-6020.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":122678,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/05\/great-horned-owl-chick-in-coastal-florida\/","url_meta":{"origin":46014,"position":2},"title":"Great Horned Owl Chick In Coastal Florida","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This image of a Great Horned Owl chick resting near its nest on the coast Florida in lovely afternoon light brings back wonderful memories for me. It was 2008.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl chick in coastal Florida, Honeymoon Island State Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-young-in-nest-mia-mcpherson-0661.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-young-in-nest-mia-mcpherson-0661.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-young-in-nest-mia-mcpherson-0661.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-young-in-nest-mia-mcpherson-0661.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":124317,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/15\/eyes-on-the-sky-osprey-migration-is-underway\/","url_meta":{"origin":46014,"position":3},"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":[]},{"id":158106,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/09\/27\/hatch-year-osprey-migrating-through-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":46014,"position":4},"title":"Hatch Year Osprey Migrating Through Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"My best find at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma yesterday was a migrating hatch year Osprey perched in the dead trees at Miner\u2019s Cove.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hatch year Osprey at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/osprey-young-sequoyah-nwr-ma-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/osprey-young-sequoyah-nwr-ma-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/osprey-young-sequoyah-nwr-ma-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/osprey-young-sequoyah-nwr-ma-mcpherson-8938.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113029,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/29\/osprey-lifting-off-after-missing-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":46014,"position":5},"title":"Osprey Lifting Off After Missing Prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I had great fun photographing this Osprey lifting off from an unsuccessful dive for prey two days ago. It was definitely a challenge and I will explain why.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Osprey lifting off after an unsuccessful dive, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/osprey-coming-up-from-a-dive-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/osprey-coming-up-from-a-dive-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/osprey-coming-up-from-a-dive-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/osprey-coming-up-from-a-dive-mia-mcpherson-3792.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\/46014","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=46014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}