Osprey Talon Cleanse

[Warren D]

Of all the behaviors I've observed over the years, one of my favorites is the talon cleanse. It's rare I get to see one, of the more than 300 hours per season I spend with the osprey I'm lucky if I see the behavior once a year. This day was dank, heavy overcast, light rain and cool (late April) but I was there. I saw the osprey setting up and it was looking great, for once it appeared he would head toward me at a slight angle. Not so fast, just as he was on final approach a breeze picked up from behind him. He aborted his run and swung around, now heading away from me. It was a good run but I can't forget what could have been.....

 

[MorganP]

I love this shot and the nice rooster tail.

 

[Icarus]

Very cool behavior!

 

[Rassie]

Very nice, Warren. I'm going to keep an eye out for this behavior in future.

 

[Warren D]

Thanks folks! This often happens quickly and is hard to distinguish from an eagle-style fish snatch or grab for nesting materials. The approach is less steep than a typical osprey dive but it does have some height that the bird will use to gain speed/momentum at the last instant. The only tell that I've seen (again, I haven't seen even 6 of these in as many years) is that they will keep the head forward for the talon cleanse run where a fish grab they tend to look down (focused on the target) as well as pull up to slow down just before they make the grab. The talon cleanse runs tend to start on the faster side and last until the momentum starts to drop. If they have been nest building with marsh muck, they are more likely to do a cleanse but I've seen more than one fly off to a remote area and come back with clean feet!