Clearly, this says, "What are doing in the middle of my river?!"
However, as I was shooting Osprey today, I became more curious about two very conspicuous behaviors. So, do you speak Osprey?
1. After diving, they will ascend to about 30-50ft in the air and "vibrate" their wings and tail feathers. I assume that this is to shake all of the water off?
2. They spend a lot of time "hovering" approx 80-100 feet over a particular area of the water sometimes followed by a dive, sometimes not. Is this to get a better look at what's happening below?
Good questions and I would be interested in hearing what the experts have to say. My best guess is that the hovering is hunting mode. I see them shake and I would think that is to shake off the water which is doing nothing but adding weight. I have seen them also come down to the water following a feeding and dip their feet into the water, seemingly to wash them. I didn't realize this from photos, but I read that they dive with feet and head first, very acrobatic.
I would imagine the amount of hovering or soaring is largely dependent on what is going on in the water; tides and temperatures affect fishes.