Osprey Sighting

I so badly wish I could bring my camera to the sites where I work! The wildlife is phenomenal as there are usually habitats set aside or produced for the animals around the facilities. At this location in Virginia, we are working right along the James River and so the birdwatching is fabulous. As I was waiting for a pump to purge out muddy water from a well, I noticed some unusual hawks circling around above the river. Some came quite close to where I was and I got a good look at them. They were a lot different than the hawks I'd seen around in California, so I described the bird to Steve (a co-worker) who seems to know everything about anything (in a humble way), and he thought it sounded like an osprey. I came back and googled it, and sure enough this is what I saw:


These birds are fisherbirds, catching fish with their scaly feet (and big talons too). No wonder they seemed to not stray from the river. At first I thought they were vultures because they were so big and were flying in circles. But then I noticed the bright white belly and stripe along their faces, and had to admit I'd never seen a vulture with those characteristics. This picture above is compliments of Wikipedia.