When I was out for my morning walk along the West Bay Walkway a few days ago I noticed a couple of gulls harassing what seemed to be a third gull. As they came nearer though I realized that the third bird was not a gull but perhaps some kind of hawk. This was a little exciting since I seldom see hawks or raptors of any kind along the West Bay Walkway. By the time I fumbled my camera into position the gulls had driven this mystery bird beyond range. However, a few minutes later the raptor re-appeared and cruised right overhead, allowing me to take the above shot and make a good identification when I returned home. This is an
Osprey (Pandion heliaetus), often called "Fish Hawk" since they live exclusively on fish they catch by diving down onto them from considerable height. They are not rare on this coast although they are not generally seen in my neighbourhood. For many years their numbers were in decline but since the banning of DDT they have begun to recover.
