Posted August 29, 2024
This is a true story that happened a few years ago. We have a cottage in Onset that has been in the family for four generations now and back in the late 70s my father decided to build an osprey nesting platform in our front yard. After a couple years of experimentation, a pair of ospreys started a brood and we have been hosts to a breeding pair every year since. Seeing (and hearing) this natural phenomenon has been an education for all of us and with the exception of the early morning (4:30 AM) chicks screeching for breakfast, we have enjoyed it immensely.

This particular story happened in late summer/early fall when my son and I were performing some annual maintenance on the porch. We were regularly checking the water off the seawall for fish and bird activity because sometimes we are able to catch school bass with our spinning outfits. This afternoon I happened to see an osprey carrying a good size fish and heading for the nest to feed the brood. As I watched I realized this bird was struggling to stay above the water and the closer he got the bigger that fish became. Quick background: when a male osprey brings a fish to the nest, he will usually stop in a tree somewhere off site and eat the head off the fish. This allows easier handling while the female assists the chicks with their meal. Anyway, this male osprey was having all he could do just to reach the nest with his catch and, as it turned out, this fish was still alive. He managed to soar up to the required height and land at the edge of the nest to release his catch. The two fledgling ospreys and the mother were still in the nest and they watched hopelessly as this 14” striped bass flipped and flopped its way around to the edge and out of the nest. My son and I witnessed this spectacle and when the fish hit the ground I said, “Guess what we’re having for supper?”
I grabbed the filet knife and ran out to the seawall before this fish could find its way to the water. Of course the ospreys (all 4 of them) decided to take flight while I was walking around below the platform. With two small but respectable filets in hand I returned to the porch and asked my son to fire up the grill. I retuned to the seawall and managed to throw the fish back up into the nest where the ospreys could feast on it. Mother and chicks returned to the nest and no doubt had a fine meal. We found makings of a salad, grilled the fish, and also had a fine meal.
Written by Jim Brown, Sustaining Member, Wareham Land Trust