Wolf Run Studio - Birds
Bill Harrah
Wolf Run Studio
P.O. Box 444
Clifton VA 20124

Phone:
(703) 250-6711
Fax:
(703) 764-9204

 

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DRAWING
INDEX

  AMERICAN KESTREL     BALD EAGLE     BARN OWL     BARRED OWL     EASTERN SCREECH OWL     GREAT HORNED OWL     HARRIS' HAWK     OSPREY     PEREGRINE FALCON     RED-TAILED HAWK     SAW-WHET OWL     TAWNY FROGMOUTHS     CHICKADEE     CARDINAL     HUMMINGBIRD     TUFTED TITMOUSE     NUTHATCH     DOWNY WOODPECKER     RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER     CAROLINA WREN     GREAT EGRETS     PELICAN     CANADA GEESE     MUTE SWAN  
. . . BIRDS OF PREY . . . (Click on an image to see the actual notecard size)
OSPREY
#OSP-400 Notecards Only
Also available in Notecard Assortment Packs #AST-401 , #AST-402 & #AST-404

Often called the fish hawk, the osprey lives near lakes, rivers and seacoasts on every continent except Antarctica. To hunt, the osprey cruises over the water until it spots a fish. Then it hovers on beating wings briefly before plunging feet first into the water, grasping its slippery prey with large claws and spicule-studded feet.

The osprey’s large white head atop a dark brown upper body gives it a resemblance to the bald eagle, its nemesis. As the osprey returns to the nest with its catch, the bald eagle often swoops in. The faster, more powerful eagle then bedevils the osprey until it releases the fish. Quickly, the eagle plunges to ensnare the fish before it hits the water.

Unlike the eagle, the osprey has a broad dark eye stripe. It also has a dark “wrist” patch on its white underside, and the female usually sports a dark spotted “necklace.” An adult osprey may grow to two-feet tall with a wingspan of six feet. It often flies with a distinct bend in the front of each wing. At Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania, an osprey clocked at two points traveled 80 miles per hour without flapping its wings.

The osprey builds a bulky stick nest similar to eagle nests, typically atop a tree or utility pole. A mated pair uses the same nest year after year, usually raising a brood of three or four chicks.

Text © 1997 Terry White, Drawing © 1997 Bill Harrah

Osprey pencil drawing

Copyright Notice
Drawings Copyright © 1992-2010 Bill Harrah, Wolf Run Studio (SM), All Rights Reserved. Wolf Run Studio is a service mark of Bill Harrah and has been in continuous use since 1992. All of the images on this website are in tangible form and are fully copyrighted. Each has an invisible digital identification which is traceable through the Digimarc Corporation. Viewers of the Wolf Run Studio website are allowed to browse and print out images for personal, non-commercial use only. You may not distribute copies of images or image files to anyone else for any reason. Images may not be reproduced or used in any form or any manner, or displayed on any website without the express written consent of Bill Harrah.

Text Copyright © 1992-2008 Terry White or Dianne Harrah. Text on this website is used with permission from the authors. Viewers of the Wolf Run Studio website are allowed to browse and print out text for personal, non-commercial use only. Text may not be reproduced or used in any form or any manner without the express written consent of the authors.

Information Accuracy
The information for the written description of each bird has been carefully researched by the authors and is believed to be accurate. New scientific observations, however, could make some information out-of-date. If you are a professional ornithologist, and have new information that you are willing to share, please contact Dianne Harrah .