Guest Author - Lisa Shea
While there are several types of eagles and buzzards, there is just one osprey. It's found around the world and is the only raptor to dive after fish.
Osprey pairs are very territorial and stay together to raise their young. The female is usually larger than the male, with both having around 6' long wings. Their bodies are dark above, light below. The female lays 3-4 eggs which hatch after just over a month. After another 6 weeks, the young ospreys are almost ready to fly and start exploring their world.
Ospreys got a lot of attention back in the 70s when DDT, a pesticide, was blamed for thinning egg shells and osprey chick deaths. Recent research actually shows that egg shell thicknesses were on the decline for the 50 years up to and through the DDT years, so it was not the DDT that caused this reduction. Current scientists blame the acid rain caused by industrialization for the problem.