2G0 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



onp: of the iiandsomkst of ttif hawks 



The osprey acknowledges only the great bald eagle as his master. 



ing. These motion-picture records show 

 the feet-first pkmge, the period of entire 

 suhmersion, and the subsequent "shake," 

 or "rouse," as falconers say, to get rid of 

 the water dro]3s. 



It surprised me to find what a number of 

 birds made their homes within a few feet of 

 an osj)rey's eerie — piping plover, spotted 

 sandjiijier, tern grackle, and night heron. 

 The last named was j)articularly interest- 

 ing in view of the fact that the osprey dis- 

 likes the night heron intensely ( possibly be- 

 catise herons will swallow young or small 

 birds) and loses no time in letting the 

 herons know it. To see an osprey "stoop" 

 at a heron was a familiar sight, and we 

 also heard the rush of wings and the 

 squawk of the heron as it tried to shift 

 from the stoo]). 



On two occasions while I was on the 

 island, herons were struck by os])reys ; once 

 (he blow proved fatal. According to one 

 authority, Richard Blome, the osprey was 

 used in bygone days as a trained falcon for 

 taking "fish and teal." Judging by its 

 jjrowess where the herons were concerned, 

 there is no reason why it should not have 

 been, and one can only marvel at the man- 

 ner in which the herons persisted in nesting 



in trees already occupied by ospreys' nests. 

 When the young ospreys, having contin- 

 uously and thoroughly tested the weight- 

 carr)'ing capacity of their wings, decided to 

 take to the air, they proved to be accom- 

 plished flyers. On its first flight, one of 

 them disap])eared over the hill behind the 

 nest, flying beautifully. For some time 

 they would return to the nest periodically 

 for the food which the parents would bring 

 to them, but eventually, able to fend for 

 themselves, they deserted it altogether. 



AN ATTICMPT TO REINTRODUCI:: THE OSPREY 

 INTO SCOTEAND 



In the hope of reintroducing the osprey 

 into Scotland, and having obtained the 

 necessary permission from Mr. Gardiner 

 and Mr. Mackay, I took home with me two 

 ])airs of the birds, all strong on the wing 

 and all from different nests. Thev were 

 liberated on that little island in the Scottish 

 lake where the last British ospre)-s nested 

 twenty years ago ( see ]iage 250). 



The surrounding country is owned by 

 Colonel Cameron, of Lochiel, who will af- 

 ford the birds every protection possible. 

 It is to be hoped that they will one day nest 

 there again. 



