The osprey is often referred to as “Fish Hawk,” since fish is its primary diet. They are large hawks, with dark wings and tail and a mostly white head and body. Their wings are pointed back in flight. They dive swiftly to catch their prey.

In the Wenatchee River Basin, the osprey returns from its wintering grounds around the end of March. Nests are on tall broken-topped trees and snags, with good visibility over lakes and rivers of good fisheries. Known nest sites include the “cosmopolitan” railroad trestle at the Wenatchee River/Columbia confluence, and the Glacier Peak Wilderness grand fir nest at Twin Lakes. Osprey are found on the Wenatchee River, Icicle Creek, Fish Lake and Lake Wenatchee.

The osprey experienced a population decline in the 1970’s primarily because of pesticide use, but has now increased throughout its range in North America. In the Wenatchee River Basin osprey nest counts numbered 13 in 1978, rising to over 35 in 1998. Osprey winter from central California, south as far as northern Argentina and Chile. In Mexico, the name for sprey is Gavilan Pescador or Aguila Pescadora.