Bird Watching or Twitching in Andalucia Southern Spain

December 2004, Osprey, Pandion heliaetus

Osprey

On the 12th October Julie and I sat entranced watching two ospreys fishing at Los Palmones. The mullet were making life easy for the birds, swimming upstream in great numbers and leaping from the water. The ospreys were circling this harvest, spotting a fish and diving into the water talons first with a huge splash. Out of an untidy flurry of wings and water the bird would emerge with a mullet grasped between its feet. It would then take the fish to land to consume its meal before returning for a repeat performance.

The osprey is a scarce winter visitor to Los Palmones and Andalucia in general and is classed as a vulnerable species. This pair will have built a large nest of sticks at the very top of a pine tree, probably in the woods a few kilometres northwest and should stay in the area until about March. The bird is easy to recognise being a typical 'eagle' shape with very pale plumage beneath and dark, almost black upper parts. Its wings are comparatively narrow with five 'fingers' at the tips and a span of up to 160 cm.