Osprey

Pretty sure we had one in our yard this afternoon.  Seemed to be munching on a bluejay, which it scooped up with its talons and flew away with when I tried to go out, quietly, to have a look.

Osprey should be well on their way, south.

I often see them from the train in the Meadowlands (where there are a number of nesting pairs), but would also have thought they'd be migrating by now. Someone recently posted a picture of a bald eagle in South Orange, to my surprise!

If only everyone did what they were supposed to do . . .

It wasn't a hawk, a falcon or an owl.  I looked at osprey pics on line and they seemed to be on the money.  Definitely a predator strong enough to fly away with a decent size bird in its talons.

Well that's very cool -- would love to have seen. (Ditto the eagle.)

I have a video but struggling to upload.  I'll figure it out.

bub said:

If only everyone did what they were supposed to do . . .

 Confucius called that Rectification of Names.

iwasmim said:

I often see them from the train in the Meadowlands (where there are a number of nesting pairs), but would also have thought they'd be migrating by now. Someone recently posted a picture of a bald eagle in South Orange, to my surprise!

 Bald Eagle or Red Tail Hawk? I saw one or the other a couple of years ago on my street devouring some small creature. As I walked up the driveway,at a distance, he was so large I thought I was looking at a Wild Turkey then I realized it was a raptor. I looked at so many pictures online and decided it was a Red Tailed Hawk. That would make more sense but who knows.

Bald eagles are huge.  They have (or had) a couple at the Raptor Trust near the Great Swamp.