Pandion cristatus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The eastern osprey (Pandion haliaetus cristatus) is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It lives in Oceania at coastal regions of the Australian continent, the Indonesian islands, New Guinea, and the Philippines. It is usually sedentary and pairs breed at the same nest site, building up a substantial structure on dead trees or limbs.
The subspecies resides in a habitat close to coasts and estuaries that provide opportunities for fishing. The eastern osprey's diet consists mostly of vertebrate fish species. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey.
A description as species Buteo cristatus was published in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot, which came to be cited as a subspecies or race of a widely distributed species. The epithet cristatus is derived from the Latin for 'crested' in reference to the stiff tuft of feathers that extend from the nape. The subspecific treatment Pandion haliaetus cristatus distinguishes the crest from other subspecies of P. haliaetus, the name taken from ancient Greek haliaietos for 'sea eagle'.
Later authors described the regional population as separate... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Osprey sighting in Rottnest Island on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 81 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and November
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Osprey in Rottnest Island on a given day, against under 5% in February and May–July, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Osprey sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Eastern Osprey sightings, Rottnest Island ranks 4th at about 30%. The best odds are in Cape Range (Australia, about 50%), Ningaloo Marine Park (Australia, about 30%) and Noosa National Park (Australia, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Osprey is recorded against all the birds logged in Rottnest Island (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
