About this time every year I begin to get excited about the upcoming arrivals of our migratory summer neighbors. Temperatures begin to rise a little, we start to see mud, and my mind immediately wants to eschew any remaining winter and head straight for the warm goodness and the wildlife it brings. Whether I like it or not, we then go through another deep freeze with more snow, and reality sinks in that I need to sit back, be patient, and let nature take its course.

This week takes a look at two such spring arrivals, one of which comes all the way from Central and South America, the other typically from just down on the plains. The latter are our resplendent bald eagles, who are seen on and off through the winter when warmer temperatures melt out places for them to fish, and the former, the osprey, another master fisherman. When these two species share a territory, one can usually expect some serious action.

As mentioned above, both species are experts at fishing, the osprey only having a slight “leg up” on the eagles as they are the only raptor in North America that subside solely on a diet of fish. Eagles, while they do fish quite a bit, are opportunists, and are quite happy with fish, water fowl, larger rodents, and even scavenging big carcasses like elk and deer from other predators. In the case of the “arch enemies” seen here, it is the fishing that brings the fight.

Typically the eagles arrive first, wintering so much closer than Central America, and in the case of the adult pair that call Los Lagos home, prefer to initially stake claim to the osprey platform. It is a good bit smaller than what they are accustomed to for an egg laying nest, but they greatly enjoy the easy access of the platform to water from which they fish, eat and even sleep. While bald eagles are not the largest bird in the world, they do build the largest nests (for a single pair) of any bird in existence, with a record set in 1963 near St. Petersburg, Florida, at a massive 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep and weighing an estimated 4,400 pounds.

Usually the eagle pair would enjoy the solitude of the platform for a few weeks before the osprey returned, and then the action really heated up. Being a much smaller bird, one would think the osprey didn’t stand a chance, but they impressively held their own quite well. For a number of years the eagles would nest nearby in a dead snag now fallen, and the close proximity of their homes made for quite a bit of competition.

They now reside deeper in the forest near a different lake, making the last couple years of battles more of a formality, with the eagles capitulating after a few days and retreating to their new home deeper in the forest by a much larger lake from which to fish. That’s not to say the fighting subsided, as I mentioned above that eagles are opportunists, and certainly enjoy any opportunity to steal fish from the smaller species at any time of the summer, igniting further conflict and impressive dog-fighting.

These two (I believe these are both females of the pairs, as females tend to be the larger of the sexes with raptors) have held many battles over the years, and with this image coming from my vaults, I’m sad to say the osprey pair have not returned to the platform since 2020, and I fear they may have reached the end of their days. That said, other ospreys still return to the area each year, and I hold hope that one of the original pair’s offspring will take their place and call the Los Lagos platform home again.

For information about James DeWalt Photography, check out https:// jamesdewaltphotography.com.

Additional information for this article came from https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/ attracting- birds/ bird- nesting/ 8- different- bird- nests- how- spotthem/#:~: text= The% 20grand% 20 champion% 20bird% 20nest, 2% 20 to%204%20feet%20tall.