The Magnificent Osprey

When the CFPA was being formed in 1985 we were looking for a party mascot that was different than what others had. It seems that almost all of the radical right-wing parties use the eagle. Many of Jesus' disciples were fishermen so we decided that the Osprey would best fit our organization as it is a bird of stength and beauty and also a catcher of fish.

One of the largest birds of prey in North America, the Osprey eats almost exclusively fish. It is one of the most widespread birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica. Ospreys are not known to breed in South America or Indo-Malasia, but are sometimes found there in the winter. Ospreys are winter breeders in Egypt and some Red Sea islands. Regions where ospreys are particularly abundant include Scandinavia and the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States.

There are four subspecies of ospreys, which are separated by geographic region.
Pandion haliaetus carolinensis breeds in North America and the Caribbean, and winters in South America.
Pandion haliaetus breeds in the Palearctic region (Europe, north Africa and in Asia, north of the Himalayas) and winters in south Africa, India and the East Indies.
Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi is a non-migratory subspecies. It resides in the Caribbean, with a range that extends from the Bahamas and Cuba to southeast Mexico and Belize. The final subspecies, Pandion haliaetus leucocephalus is also a non-migratory subspecies. Its range includes Australia and the southwest Pacific.

 

Sexes similar; female larger and tends to have fuller and darker chest band.

 

  • The Osprey readily builds its nest on manmade structures, such as telephone poles, channel markers, duck blinds, and nest platforms designed especially for it. Such platforms have become an important tool in reestablishing Ospreys in areas where they had disappeared. In some areas nests are placed almost exclusively on artificial structures.
  • Osprey eggs do not hatch all at once, but instead the first chick hatches out up to five days before the last one. The older chick dominates its younger siblings, and can monopolize the food brought by the parents. If food is abundant, little aggression is seen amongst the chicks, but if food is limited, the younger chicks often starve.
  • The Osprey is a fish-eating specialist, with live fresh and saltwater fish accounting for about 99% of its diet. Barbed pads on the soles of its feet help it grip slippery fish. When an Osprey takes a large fish to its nest, it carries the fish headfirst to make it as aerodynamic as possible.