Seal Beach Daily

Tuesday’s beautiful afternoon tempted me onto the pier to take a few pictures of the pelicans fishing in the glassy waters of the low tide. After a few shots, as I walked back toward Main Street, I saw a couple ahead of me signaling me to look up. When I did, I saw a large and beautiful raptor looking down at me from the the roof of the pier’s tower. “He has a huge wingspan,” said the lady. “A big hawk,” said the man.

A little group gathered. “A sea eagle come over from Catalina,” said one. “Some kind of falcon,” volunteered another. A sports photographer who said he’d been thinking about doing a series on local birds of prey wondered if it was an osprey. We waited. The big bird watched the still water and watched us. Then at last he lifted off, opened his 6 foot wingspan, swung low over the pier and out over the ocean.

When I got home, I did a little research with the help of the USGS Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge Bird Checklist and Wikipedia and discovered that the visitor was indeed an osprey. But we’re still wondering, are ospreys — or this osprey — pier regulars? Have you ever seen one fishing in the ocean off the pier? Are they a common sight in Seal Beach? Know the answers? Use the comment form below to share your birding knowledge. And thanks!

Below: More photos of Tuesday’s osprey.