Osprey Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Ospreys do breed in South Dakota, with multiple nesting sites in the Black Hills. Efforts have also been made to establish them as breeders elsewhere in the state. However, in my part of eastern South Dakota, Osprey sightings are few and far between. Occasionally I might see one in migration close to home, but that's rare. The closet location I can go where I MIGHT find an Osprey is Gavin's Point Dam along the Nebraska/South Dakota border, in the fall, when migration is underway. A mere hour and a half drive!

That is where my favorite Osprey photo is from, when a visit in October of 2007 resulted in the photo below. The Osprey was looking down into the spillway below the dam, and was pretty unconcerned about the guy on the shore with the camera.

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus


Osprey 1 August 23rd, 2004 Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Osprey 2 August 23rd, 2004 Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Osprey 3 August 23rd, 2004 Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Osprey 4 August 23rd, 2004 Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Osprey 5 April 19th, 2007 Point Reyes National Seashore, California	Osprey 6 October 28th, 2007 Gavin's Point Dam, NE/SD Border	Osprey 7 September 29th, 2007 Gavin's Point Dam, NE/SD Border	Osprey 8 January 17th, 2010 Point Reyes National Seashore, California

Osprey 9 January 17th, 2010 Point Reyes National Seashore, California	Osprey 10 September 29th, 2007 Gavin's Point Dam, NE/SD Border	Osprey 11 November 1st, 2007 Gavin's Point Dam, NE/SD Border	Osprey 12 November 1st, 2007 Gavin's Point Dam, NE/SD Border

Osprey 13 November 1st, 2007 Gavin's Point Dam, NE/SD Border	Osprey 14 October 25th, 2015 Wall Lake, western Minnehaha County, South Dakota	Osprey 15 October 25th, 2015 Wall Lake, western Minnehaha County, South Dakota