“Osprey Takes the Plunge”

**This piece will be part of an exhibition at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo from January-July**

Fast facts:

• The name “Osprey” made its first appearance around 1460, via the Medieval Latin phrase for “bird of prey” (avis prede) and the Anglo-French ospriet.

 

• Ospreys are unique among North American raptors for their diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them,  commonly seen soaring over shorelines and patrolling waterways. (They can only dive about 3 feet.)

 

• Another unusual trait: they have a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on their soles help them grip slippery fish.

 

• Ospreys are excellent anglers. Over several studies, Ospreys caught fish on at least 1 in every 4 dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. They catch a fish about every 12 minutes while hunting!

• After the 1972 U.S. DDT ban, populations rebounded, and the Osprey became a conservation success symbol. Ospreys are still listed as endangered or threatened in some states—especially inland, where pesticides decimated or extirpated many populations.

 

• When hunting, Osprey line up their catch head-first to reduce wind resistance. Smart!

 

Sources: Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Original mixed media on raw stretched canvas with hard maple float frame.

Alternative hardwood frame available upon request at no extra cost. Email with inquiries.