Saturday, April 11, 2009

These photos show an Osprey giving fish rides. This rarely documented behavior was exhilarating to see. There is a small man-made waterfall and a fish ladder separating the Upper and Lower Carmans River. Fish ladders, while very accommodating, are still hard work. The Ospreys, sensing this, will often pick a fish up from the surface and ferry it upriver. These rides may not be entirely altruistic, however. Perhaps the birds know that the fish need to spawn upriver and that a little help now will reap benefits for the Osprey in years to come. The fish pictured here may be an Alewife but I am really not sure. My lack of knowledge doesn’t stop with birds. I’m not an ichthyologist either. JK