With This Ring... The Birding Ties That Bind

Most tales that involve a convoluted plot with unlikely twists and turns and a contrived ending are usually found in a Jane Harper novel or an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but this one is real and involves two Russian Western Ospreys.

- Text and Photographs by Mike Buckham

The Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus is a globally widespread species, resident in tropical climes but migratory in the higher latitudes. The migrant Palearctic population breeds in Europe, with the birds dispersing into Africa, predominantly West Africa and to a lesser extent South Africa. We see a reasonable number of them in our estuaries and open water bodies in summer and, for me, it is always special to see one.

We spend our summer holidays in St Francis Bay, a coastal town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, which hugs the southern bank of the Kromme River estuary. The mouth of the river spills into the Indian Ocean and is a perfect overwintering spot for Western Ospreys as the water is clear and the fish life prolific. I always have my camera with me on the boat just in case we get decent views of an osprey (or any other bird, for that matter), which is exactly what happened when we headed upriver on 13 December 2021.

Just as I got the boat onto the plane as we were motoring up the Kromme River, I noticed an osprey flapping languidly towards us in typical hunting mode, about 30 metres above the water surface with eyes directed downwards, looking for fish. I guessed that there might be a photo opportunity, so I slowed the boat and grabbed my camera as the bird came past us. As it did, I fired off a few shots and, in addition to a few side-on flight images, I captured it diving, talons down, and nabbing a flathead mullet before it flew off to feed.