Clear Lake is always full of surprises and that”s what makes being out on the lake so special.
Last week I was fishing near Lakeside County Park with retired Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Ed Smith when we heard a loud splash behind the boat. We turned around and saw an osprey retrieving a 12-inch bass not 10 yards away. The osprey grabbed the fish, circled above us, turned the fish around so that the head faced forward and flew to his nest in the park. It was an awesome sight and one many local fishermen and boaters have witnessed down through the years.
Ospreys are unique birds in that they can be found throughout the world on every continent except Antarctica. The worldwide population is estimated at more than 400,000 birds. They are common on Clear Lake with at least 10 pairs of birds living around the lake. They can be easily identified in flight by the white belly and their long, black-tipped and narrow wings. The head is mostly white with a dark brown stripe that extends from the eye. Their beak is hooked at the end, which allows them to tear a fish into small bits. Short and sharp spines on the bottom of their feet help them hold onto fish. A reversible outer toe allows them to have two toes in the front and two in the back for holding onto fish. Their feathers have an oil coating, which helps keep the feathers dry when they dive into the water.
Fish make up 99 percent of the osprey”s diet. At Clear Lake, their diet consists of hitch, small carp, threadfin shad and small bass. They locate their prey by flying low over the water. When they spot a fish near the surface they climb and then dive with their talons outstretched. Once they grab a fish they turn it so the head faces forward. The osprey will then fly back to its nest with its catch. Smith said ospreys at Lake Shasta have learned that bass fishermen mean food and they follow the bass fishermen and grab the small bass the fishermen release. He said some fishermen even throw bass high into the air just to watch the osprey dive on the fish.
Ospreys mate for life and their nests can be huge. They return to the same nest year after year and continually add to it with dead sticks and grass. The nests can weigh as much as 700 pounds. They build their nests near the tops of trees (preferably dead ones) and sometimes even on power poles. Since their diet consists entirely of fish, the nests are always located near water.
The female lays from three to four eggs and then incubates them for approximately 35 days. Both the male and female rear the young. It takes from three to four fish per day to feed an osprey family.
The osprey family at Lakeside County Park is probably the most photographed pair in the state. At any given time there will be a couple of photographers stationed near the nest taking pictures. The nest is located on the first road to the left as you enter the park. It”s right behind the low wooden fence. Last year a wildlife photographer from New York was visiting Lake County and asked me to show him an osprey nest. We went to the county park and I pointed out the nest. He said he didn”t see any osprey. Then he looked up and just above his head was an osprey sitting on a branch feeding on a fish. The photographer stayed at the park for two days filming the pair of osprey and the three chicks.
One of my favorite lakes to observe the ospreys is Indian Valley Reservoir. There are several pairs at the lake and they have built their nests on the old dead trees standing in the lake. When you approach the nests by boat they will fly in circles around you screaming. The osprey is another good example of why we have to protect and preserve our wildlife.
