Antonio MUSSONE, Sky Angler (JUNIOR 2023)

With 99% of their diet coming from the water, Ospreys have developed incredible adaptions, making them expert anglers of the sky. Once they set their sights on their prey they dive vertically to gain speed, plunging feet first into the water. Their long, curved talons and spicules (tiny spikes) all over their feet then take over, giving the Osprey immense gripping power. But, here’s where it gets interesting! They rotate their fourth toe in opposition to the rest to improve their grip and allow them to turn their kill so it’s positioned more aerodynamically. These adaptions give Ospreys a high success rate when fishing and once back at their tree or another tall structure, they can slowly devour their prey, head first, savouring every bite! This photo is of an Osprey atop the antenna structure at Narooma. It’s already ripped the head off and is slowly shredding the flesh into bite sized pieces. Every now and then it would pause, look around, stretch its wings then continue feasting.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.