There are some species of birds which are common, almost everyone and their aunts have a great picture of them but I somehow do not have any decent pictures. The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) till very recently was one such species.
The Osprey also known as the sea hawk or the fishing eagle is a widespread winter visitor and local resident in India. We in Nagpur are lucky enough to have a pair visit us every year since past 4 years during the winter and I know the roosting place as well but the roost is at the other end of a lake and I never got close enough in the trek. Last Sunday my luck changed because there was an old man with a boat who agreed to take me across….
Ospreys are found the world over and are sub divided into 4 races. Most of them are also known to migrate but it was thought that Australasian Ospreys did not migrate however there is a record of a banded individual from Norway being spotted in India. More recent studies are underway and it appears that many European birds do end up spending their winters in India.
Osprey finds reference in Greek and Roman mythologies and is also mentioned in the writing of Shakespeare and poetry of W.B. Yeats. It is also a very popular bird on postage stamps
