Blog # 299 Orpheus and the Case of his Missing Foot

Orpheus sitting in a cottonwood showing a “bloody stump,” courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek.

I arrived at Salt Point this noon after reports of Ospreys in the neighborhood. Upon  arrival we found a battle-weary Orpheus sitting one-legged in tree on the Salt Point side of Salmon Creek. Two tender-hearted bird-watchers and friends, who had been  watching the bird for hours, were upset. They had the Osprey in their scope and it  looked like he had a ragged “bloody stump.” Earlier, they had seen the Osprey skirmish  with an adult bald eagle by the Salmon Creek railroad bridge. Could an eagle rip an  Osprey’s leg off? This was a terrible image having watched Orpheus for over 8 years. 

Bald Eagles are twice as heavy and have twice the wingspan of an Osprey. That  translates into tremendous power. If an Osprey talon was stuck in a fish bone and an  eagle pulled the fish in the opposite direction, is it possible for the osprey foot to tear? 

The longer the Osprey sat in one position the more we speculated. If Orpheus was  indeed injured, how could we help him or should we let nature take her course?  Wouldn’t he be in worse shape and bleeding out if he had this injury? Photos and  videos were taken to verify the bird’s identification and to ascertain the source of the  blood. He really did seem to be an amputee, but the view was obscured by mud and  blood on its feathers. 

Oh, those poor one-legged birds! 

Avian centers like the Cornell Vet School and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology frequently  get calls reporting injured or deformed birds and wondering what they should do.  Fortunately, a vast number of these reports are of birds merely standing on one foot. 

Perching on one leg is a common behavior of Ospreys and other large birds (think gulls  and herons) with long or thick legs. They balance on one leg quite easily due to flexor  tendons, which run down the backs of the legs to the tips of the toes. When the Osprey 

sits, the tendons pull on the toes and close them tightly, like a fist. The perching foot is  placed directly underneath their center of gravity and the other foot is tucked up against,  or within, the bird’s feathers. This locking mechanism prevents sideways movements  making it easier to balance. 

The common one-legged stance on a branch, C.E. Cornell. 

Finally, after sitting on the branch like a statue for over 2 1/2 hours, Orpheus stretched  his wings, giving us good views of its anatomy. Clearly, nothing was wrong with his  second leg, which had been tucked in his feathers. The blood was on its belly, not leg,  which suggested that the blood rubbed off while eating a fish—and that Orpheus merely needed a bath. The sight is peculiar as Ospreys are very neat birds and keen bathers, and rarely sit around with fish blood on their feathers. Perhaps the stormy weather  caused his disheveled appearance.

Orpheus breaking a stick off a cottonwood today at Salt Point, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

Rejoicing that our worries were for naught, we watched Orpheus collect long sticks in  rapid succession from the nearby cottonwoods and place them in his nest. Another trip  garnered a clump of algae from the lake to line nest. Ophelia should arrive any day and  begin mating with her two-legged life partner. 

Orpheus with another stick for his nest, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek.

Orpheus with another stick for his nest, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. Blood is barely visible. 

Chalk this one up to the excitement of seeing a returning Osprey and what really looked  like a bloody stump. 

Orpheus with yet another stick for his nest, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

It’s only human to jump to conclusions, but nature usually requires a closer look. 

Eyes to the sky! 

Candace  

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Cayuga Osprey Network 

Lansing, NY  

cec222@gmail.com  

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT OSPREYS:  

KEEP A DISTANCE FROM ACTIVE NESTS IN THE BREEDING SEASON. 

IF AN ANIMAL VOCALIZES WHEN YOU'RE NEAR, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE! 

BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY. 

• CARRY BINOCULARS TO VIEW WILDLIFE FROM AFAR. 

• RESTORE, CLEAN, AND PRESERVE LAKESHORE AND WETLAND HABITAT. • HELP KEEP LOCAL WATERS CLEAN, HEALTHY, AND SAFE. 

• RECYCLE USED FISHING LINE, WHICH CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO OSPREY. 

• JOIN THE CAYUGA OSPREY NETWORK AND VOLUNTEER TO HELP MONITOR OSPREY NESTS. WRITE TO: CEC222@GMAIL.COM. 

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHERS: 

Karel and Cindy Sedlacek, a.k.a. BOGette, are the folks you see 365 days/yr. live streaming Red-tailed Hawks on campus and locally. In the warmer months, they also  capture exquisite shots of Cayuga Lake’s Osprey with their cameras, which are  frequently published in this blog. Both tech wizards at Cornell and accomplished  musicians, the Sedlacek’s give us a unique view of these spectacular raptors. Karel and  Cindy are Osprey nest monitors for the Cayuga Lake Osprey Network. 

EYES ON OSPREYS 

WATCH! 

Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2021 

READ! 

On Osprey Time—a blog on the Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail

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