Clear Lake is one of the oldest lakes in the world and existed more than a million years before man walked on the planet. It’s not just the ancient history of the lake but the abundant bird and other wildlife that helps make the lake so special.
Two of my favorite spots on the lake are the State Park and Lakeside County Park. Both offer excellent opportunities to view bird life. I enjoy the pelicans, eagles, grebes, cormorants and a wide variety of other birds, but my favorite is the osprey.
Ospreys are unique in that they can be found throughout the world 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 are easily identified in flight by their white belly and long, black-tipped 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. The bottom of their feet have short and sharp spines, which helps them hold onto fish. Their outer toe is reversible, which allows them to have two toes in the front and two in the back for the purpose of holding fish. Their feathers also have an oily coating, which helps keep their feathers dry when they dive into the water.
Fish make up 99 percent of the osprey’s diet and at Clear Lake their primary food sources is a mix of hitch, small carp, threadfin shad and small bass. They locate their prey by flying low above 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 of the fish faces forward. They are successful in one out of every four attempts.
In many lakes osprey have learned that bass fishermen mean food and they will follow the bass fishermen and grab the small bass the fishermen release. One of my favorite lakes to observe the osprey in action is Indian Valley Reservoir. There are several pairs at the lake and their nests are easily seen in old dead trees that are standing in the lake. When you approach the nests by boat they will fly in circles around you screaming. Many times I have had an osprey hover above my boat just waiting for me a to release a bass.
Osprey 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 eggs don’t all hatch at the same time. The first chick emerges about five days before the others. The parents guard the chicks and will drive off any other birds that comes near their nest.
There are some excellent spots in the county to observe these remarkable birds. There are several osprey living in the Clear Lake State Park. Lakeside County Park also has several osprey families. For years the best place to see them was the dog walking area in the park. It drew hundreds of bird watchers. Unfortunately, the tree that held the nest blew down a few years ago. There are also osprey nests in Rodman Slough. When the lake was open, Indian Valley hosted several families of osprey and you could boat right beneath their nests. When you got near the nest they would scream and dive at you.
The osprey is another good example of how lucky we are to live in Lake County and why we have to protect and preserve our wildlife.
