The Story
I photographed this Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in flight with its wings spread at Sebastian Inlet State Park, Florida, United States, in November 2020. It is often called the sea hawk, and it lives in a wide range of habitats, nesting wherever water provides enough fish. It is a large raptor, more than 60 centimeters long, with a wingspan of up to 180 centimeters. Young birds show buff fringes on the feathers of the upperparts, buff underparts and streaked head feathers. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −0.7 EV. After a marked channel to the Intracoastal Waterway opened in 2008, biologists documented far fewer propeller scars on the seagrass beds west of the inlet.
©2024 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) belongs to the family Pandionidae (Osprey) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List