Incredible moment of osprey catching a meal

An osprey at a lake in Horn Mill, Rutland carries a fish it just caught. /VCG

These amazing images show the steely determination in the eyes of two osprey hawks as they plunge to catch their first meal after migrating back to the UK from Africa.

The two birds of prey took turns elegantly hurtling towards the surface of the water as they tried to scoop a fish in their long, outstretched talons. The pin-sharp images, captured by amateur photographer Russell Parsons, show the beady, yellow eyes of the birds of prey, fixed on the surface of the water as they glide downwards.

Here's a few more pictures to show the determined look.

Osprey is a bird of prey distributed worldwide. In Chinese, it is called "fish hawk" as the name suggests its diet. Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It is quite skillful at spotting and catching fish from water.

The osprey was captured on camera clutching onto a trout it had caught in Aviemore, just on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, by photographer Stephen Laycock from Blackrod, Greater Manchester. /VCG

For this reason, osprey is one of the favorite birds of wildlife photographers. As long as one stays patient and waits for the right moment, one may get excellent pictures. Like Billy McCourt who snapped the stunning image below, the software security engineer had been visiting the hide for five years but could not capture the bird diving for fish. He made 25 attempts at taking the pictures over the years, never managing to get the focus on the shot right until this time.

An osprey successfully pulls out its fishy prey from the water at Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands, July 16, 2019. /VCG

These skilled hunters can catch pretty big preys.

An osprey tucks its wings in and extends its talons as it makes the plunge. Amateur photographer Decker Nomura pictured the bird of prey on the Santee Lakes near his home in California, U.S. /VCG

Or even double kill at one time.

An osprey clutches a fish in each talon after a successful hunting mission. The bird of prey was able to latch onto a pair of freshwater mullet after diving into a lake. Wildlife photographer Peter Brannon, 43, spotted the fish-eating bird plunge into the water in Lakeland, Florida, for just a few seconds. /VCG

But sometimes they are just not lucky.

It is just not its day! The fish-eating bird was prepared to seize its catch but despite 15 attempts, the unlucky osprey emerged from Xindian River, near Taipei, Taiwan, China, without any food. /VCG

Well, come on! Just carry on and you will get it!

(Cover photo via VCG)

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