No, I am not about to compare my and my wife’s fishing expertise, and besides, even if I claimed to be number one, she proofreads all of my stories, and something tells me that claim wouldn’t make it to press.
No, I’m not comparing people’s fishing abilities, but rather this piece is about the fishing abilities of two of our flying fishermen — the eagle and the osprey.
Prior to the 1980s, spotting either of these birds was very unlikely, but in recent years, both the bald eagle and the osprey have made a comeback in the state of Pennsylvania. These days, hardly a week or two goes by that I don’t see an eagle somewhere in my travels.
The same is not true for the osprey, as they are more likely to be seen in and around lakes, ponds, and streams in search of a meal.
This past week, my brother and I were fishing an area lake, and we spotted eagles several times during our four-hour fishing trip. At one point, I watched a mature bald eagle swoop down and snatch a fish right at the surface, and fly off to a nearby tree to eat the catch.
A week prior, my wife and I had been fishing at the same lake, and we spotted eagles soaring overhead several times, scouting for their dinner.
Spotting eagles on lakes and even streams is something I actually expect to see these days.
Think about it, with the number of trout that are being stocked each spring in our streams and lakes, they are no doubt great locations for finding a meal. On some occasions, we will see ospreys soaring over the same lakes where we find the eagles. Ospreys feed mainly on fish, and about 60-90 percent of the eagle’s diet is made up of fish.
So, which of the two birds is the better fisherman?
They are both pretty efficient; an osprey will hover 50-150 feet up and then plunge to the water to capture prey. The osprey will sometimes nearly go under the water to make that capture. I don’t believe eagles duplicate that particular move when grabbing prey from the water. If I’m fishing and I spot an eagle starting to circle and then continue dropping closer to the water, I know it’s about to make a dive for a fish. Bald eagles have also been known to fly right at an osprey, forcing them to drop their catch, which the eagle may grab in mid-air. Come fall, most ospreys will leave Pennsylvania and head south, but eagles pretty much remain in the area. While I haven’t seen any ospreys while we are out on a lake ice fishing, it is not at all uncommon to have eagles soaring overhead or perched in a shoreline tree. No doubt those eagles have become accustomed to picking up free meals that ice fishermen have left behind, and on some occasions, we have had an eagle fly down and pick up a fresh catch — one that we intended to take home!
If you are on a lake or stream right now, keep your eyes open. The eagle’s wingspan is longer, 6- 8 feet, while the osprey’s wingspan is shorter, at about 4-6 feet. When soaring overhead, the underside of the osprey is white, while the mature bald eagle will be dark brown with a white head and white tail. An immature bald eagle will have some mottled white underneath until they reach full adult plumage in five years.
While it’s hard to say which of the two birds is the better fisherman, both of them have likely had better days on the lake than I have. I need to spend more time working on that.
