No subject

"Anecdotal observations of Ospreys with nonfish prey include birds, 
snakes, voles, squirrels, muskrats (Ondatra zibethica), salamanders, 
and even a small alligator (Alligator mississippiensis; Wiley and 
Lohrer 1973, Proctor 1977, Thorpe and Boddham 1977, Castrale and 
McCall 1983, Taylor 1986, King 1988, Poole 1989a, Pawloski 1996, 
Watermolen 1996, Douglass 1997); on Tiran I. in the Red Sea, Ospreys 
opened (and ate) conchs by dropping them onto a concrete-filled steel 
drum (Leshem 1984). Werren and Peterson (1988) observed an Osprey 
foraging by walking along ground and sallying out 2 m to capture 
ground squirrels (Citrellus sp.). Some of these reports include 
nonfish taken in water, probably using typical foraging techniques 
(e.g., alligator, muskrat) and emphasizing the generalist nature of 
Osprey predation while hunting over water; some may result from 
Ospreys trimming their nests with skeletal remains and thus not 
represent prey taken. Bad weather (high winds, choppy or turbid 
water) or early arrival on breeding grounds (when lakes are frozen) 
may promote such behavior; e.g., feeding on dead and dying fish 
tossed on the ice by fishermen in Georgian Bay in Lake Huron 
(Ewins and Cousineau 1994).  Ospreys rarely scavenge dead or dying 
fish (Dunstan 1974, Poole 1984), and even less frequently feed on 
terrestrial carrion. One was reported on a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus 
virginianus) carcass in New York State (B. Loucks pers. comm.), and 
an Osprey was seen feeding with a group of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes 
aura) on a road-killed opossum (Didelphis virginiana), which the 
Osprey tried to fly off with when flushed (Dusi 1995)."



DJ Lauten and KACastelein wrote:
> 
> Folks,
> 
> I have an Osprey question.  Has anyone ever heard or read or can point
> me in a direction to find evidence that Osprey would prey on something
> other than fish?  Specifically, has anyone ever seen any documentation
> or actually seen an Osprey successfully attack another bird,
> specifically a shorebird?  I'd like some more solid evidence than "I saw
> an Osprey dive at x species".
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Dave Lauten
> 
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-- 
Mike Patterson               
Astoria, OR                    
celata at pacifier.com  
 
Technology and the modern birder
http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/2007/09/technology.html