Young Osprey's Dangerous Encounter

Making another early morning stop at San Elijo Lagoon to see if I could find  Al, a fellow bird photographer that I enjoy visiting with and catching up on what new bird subjects he has seen here at the lagoon. I saw several local birders and walked around the trail that loops the nature reserve. I saw lots of Mallard ducks and Willets but not much else that were close enough to photograph. The weather has changed and the morning was overcast and the lighting was quite dull. I was about to call it a day when I noticed an Osprey flying across the pickleweeds towards me. Within minutes, the uneventful morning turned into one that I will not forget for a very long time!

I have been keeping an eye on two Ospreys on the Pole Road Trail that runs south to west following the railroad on the west side of the lagoon. If they go hunting, I would have twice the chance to get an action shot! This lookout area is great to observe all the bird activity inside the lagoon. One Osprey was perched directly west on the telephone pole right near the construction site that is going on and parallel to our trail bridge. The second Osprey was perched northwest on the lower utility wire about 500 yards away near the railroad bridge. A sudden movement by the second Osprey catches my attention and I bring my camera up to find my subject flying towards me. It's a big beautiful adult Osprey.

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus measures 23 inches long with a wingspan of 63 inches. The beautiful adult Osprey flies in for a landing on the post across tide channel.

This is an adult Osprey and the brown speckling necklace-like markings on the breast suggest that this one is a female. A large and strong looking bird. Look at those talons. The feathers of her underarm area have brown spots and these appear to be shaped like hearts!

She spots something and focuses. What beautiful large wings these Ospreys have! She is identified as an "adult" by the solid brown coloring on the top of her wings.

Oh my, we have another Osprey flying in. This one is the one that was perched directly west of us. I now can see that it is a youngster. You can see all the white "fish scale" pattern on the edges of his top wing feathers. I wonder if this could be one of the youngsters from the Del Mar nest at San Dieguito Lagoon. He appears to be focused on something. 

He flies low and straight. I am calling him a young male because there appears to be no marking on his breast and he seems to be about 1/3 smaller than the female that is perched on the post. 

 

Trying to keep my focus. I lower my camera for a moment to see what the adult is doing. She is focused also on the incoming juvenile.

Oh my goodness!  I wasn't ready for this!  As I bring my camera back up to focus on the youngster, the female has flown straight for him and they have now slammed into each other with their talons!  I am scrambling to get focused with many non-ladylike  words whispering out of my lips!

Oh noooo, I have missed capturing the big moment!!  I'm so sorry everyone for the blur... I felt like crying but kept working with my focus.

My camera finally focuses as the youngster breaks away from the adult.

Close-up of the youngster on the left. Look at those talons. The adult is reaching with full extension and going for the grab.

Her speed and ability has made her an expert at grabbing fish.  Now her talon has grabbed the young Osprey and he is losing control.

Close-up as the female has connected to her target and the youngster goes tumbling forward.

It appears that she has snagged his tail which sends him tumbling down and dangling like a helpless fish.

Close-up. The adult has snagged the tail but may also be reaching for one of the wingtips. Grrrrrr, I am trying to get my focus again. 

The juvenile tumbles towards the ground. the adult flaps her powerful wings and gains some height.

A close-up (sorry for the grainy shots) shows that the adult has feathers in her talons and the youngster appears to have a big gash on his inside thigh. 

Now the adult is directly over the youngster. Going into the familiar hovering that you usually see just before a strike into the water after a fish.

As the adult hovers and readies her talons, the youngster is in full panic mode. Looking straight up he sees those deadly talons.

She screams at him and flaps her wings to generate power for the attack. 

Here she comes.  She drops as she would attacking a big prey, all her talons at the ready for a big grab.

The youngster is in the worst possible position, on the ground with his talons stuck in the mud and pickleweed. 

The youngster is in full panic and tries to roll to expose his talons but only manages to put his wings up to block the oncoming attack.

The youngster lifts both wings in a defensive move and lurches into the pickleweed for cover. She zeros in...

Crashing down on the youngster the adult attacks viciously.  She appears to be directly on top and there is a helpless thrashing of wings below her.

She has the youngster pinned down and he lifts his wing to escape her attack but her talons have found their target. 

The adult uses her wings to keep the youngster pinned. I have seen Ospreys with huge fish and the wings are used to stabilize and give extra power to control the prey under them. She is now using the same subduing tactic as she has grabbed the youngster with her talons. 

The youngster thrashes his wings but the more he thrashes the harder she must be digging her talons into him. This attack does not let up.

He must be twisting and thrashing to get away. The adult makes more flapping and her powerful wings keep the youngster pinned and thrashing. 

The adult is in full attack mode with her wings spread, head up, and crown feathers raised. I have seen this look before in many videos of raptors attacking prey but this is the first time I have seen a fight between two Ospreys. I am having mixed feelings of wow, I can't believe I am witnessing such an event and, my goodness, please don't kill the youngster!

The young Osprey appears to have dragged himself away from the adult. She is not finished with him and readies for another attack. 

Screaming, she is ready to pounce. The youngster is thrashing and crawling in the mud trying to get away from her deadly intent. 

The youngster must be wounded and he stumbles in the thick mud and falls forward as the adult pumps her wings to power another attack. 

The adult comes screaming, powered by her powerful wings with talons untangling pickleweeds. The youngster is stuck and vulnerable.

In a flash, the adult lunges into another vicious attack. Talons and wings signal a relentless onslaught.

This goes on for several agonizing minutes. She is brutal with her attacks and the youngster has turned into a heap of mud-soaked feathers beneath her. 

More attacks. As long as the youngster is moving, she is attacking.

 

The huge wings are there to give her balance and power over the youngster that lies stuck and wounded beneath her powerful talons. 

They keep at it for more long anxious minutes. He tries to craw away and she repositions herself to stay in full control.

More thrashing by the youngster but the adult Osprey has a deadly grip on his back and keeps him pinned to the ground.

She is getting more and more furious by the minute. The more he thrashes the more she attacks. 

She is relentless.

He is just a helpless heap of feathers now and she is not letting him go. The talons reposition and another round of attacks is forecast.

The adult appears to be resting while standing on the youngster. As long as he is still she appears to stand still as well.

The adult looks my way to check her surroundings for dangers.

Resting. The calm before the storm. 

The youngster must have made a move, the adult responds with the fierceness of a "fight to the death" combat.

She is pumping her wings to give her added power for her attacks. Bringing her talons up for a better grab and deadly wounding. 

It's hard to see what the youngster may be doing but he must be fighting back as hard as he possibly can. She is relentlessly attacking. 

Finally he has been subdued for a few minutes. 

More movement under the adult. She responds with twice the force.

He may be grabbing at her leg with his beak. She responds to his movement with displeasure and readies her wing for extra balance as she works her talons into the youngster. 

Unlocking her right feet she proceeds to attack with the full measure of those relentless talons targeting the youngster with deadly intent. 

This is a deadly encounter; it has become a fight to the death. I question this youngster's motive.  What in the world made him attack this big adult when he could have just flown the other way? Did he want this fishing ground as his own territory? Did he have a "death wish"? She screams at him and there is no mistaking what she intends to do. 

She stands on the youngster as she takes a quick breather from the intense combat.

The youngster has also been taking a quick breather to get enough energy to make a run for it. He tries another escape!

 

She catches him in an instant. 

He is bogged in so much mud he can't make his escape. 

The youngster on the right tries to fly away. He raises his wings to fly.

He tries to fly but can't get airborne. The adult is watching.

She has no problems with flight. In a few wing flaps she is up and attacking again. The youngster can only hop about a foot off the ground and comes crashing back down.

 

His only chance is to try and run away hopping across the pickleweeds.

He stumbles and she is catching up.

She has grabbed him from behind and he is brought to a standstill. 

Now her talons are thrashing the youngster. The adult keeps balance with her powerful wings outstretched.

The youngster applies his full strength to escape. The adult lunges to catch him.

The youngster has fallen on his face and the adult is hovering for another attack.

The youngster has turned and we can now see her oncoming attack. 

She has made contact again! Down he goes. She screams with agitation.

He can't get away. She is attacking non-stop. 

The youngster changes direction again to try and escape her.

He can't fly and stumbles again. She is back, fierce with anger.

She is not letting this go. It is beyond just a little squabble.

Again she attacks.

They are both in thick pickleweed and all I can spot now is the adult's head and wings as she keeps up her attack. 

I move down a ways to get a better look and find her in the mud relentlessly attacking as the youngster is down in a heap again.

Talons fly.

She stands on the motionless heap of feathers and rests for a few moments. 

The youngster must have made another move to escape. She comes alive and the attacks resume.

She is now attacking with her beak. This is not good. I can see the feathers on her beak.

I have never seen an Osprey trying to kill another Osprey before. It is a fierce life and death combat for survival. Nature in the raw and sometimes it is very sad but this happens. Every day, every moment is about survival in the wild. Life can be lost in an instant.

Attacking.

Talons engaged.

More feathers on the beak.

Keeping her balance as the youngster thrashes to escape.

Beak is now engaged in the attack. Ripping and shredding the victim.

As the adult rips at the youngster, I am wondering if he is still alive.

The rip and tear goes on. 

I move again to get a better look.

The youngster is still alive and gives another valiant effort to get away.

The adult intensifies her attack.

The youngster is brought down and pounced on again.

 

The pickleweed is too deep and the youngster appears to be using his wings to swim over the weeds to get away.

He falls onto the mud again and she catches him.

Screaming as she attacks with no hesitation.

Screaming at him and attacking again.

 

She grabs his neck with her beak.

He is face down in the mud.

The youngster appears to be quiet and not moving. The adult looks and waits for any resistance.

 

Check back soon to see Part 2 of "Young Osprey's Dangerous Encounter" to see what happens next to this youngster.