Osprey

The greater Chicago area is just outside the summer breeding range for ospreys, but the birds don't seem to know this!  I had never seen an osprey before, and I don't think many people in this area have ever seen one either.

Ospreys are in the same family as hawks, eagles, and kites.  Their diet is mainly fish which are caught by grabbing with their talons.  Fisherman take note - the average time it takes an osprey to catch a fish is reported to be 12 minutes (reference: Cornell Lab of Ornithology allaboutbirds.org).  Yesterday I saw the osprey eating a bluegill at this dead tree.

This osprey lives at Farmington Lakes Park off Douglas Road in Oswego, Illinois. This is a 77 acre park with a 32 acre lake and 2 acre pond plus Waubonsie Creek running through it.  Similar to nearby Bluegrass Prairie Park, Farmington Lakes Park has asphalt paths running along the perimeter, but most of the acreage is wild where native plants, animals, and birds thrive.  The Oswegoland Park District has fostered natural areas such as this, with 40% of the district's parkland left in a natural state and not developed.