From a NC friend:
'12/26/22 Shallotte Point, NC
"There was an EAGLE on my dock, the other day, and he was eating something he'd caught.....!". My friend, Mike, who has to suffer with living right on the ICW, very near (Shallotte) Inlet, was proudly explaining to me.
"Did you take any pictures?" I asked. "YEP, just let me get my phone!" Mike beamed. He'd taken several, videos, too. This is one of them ...
"Mike, THAT, is an Osprey....and when, precisely, did you take these shots?" I asked. "An Osprey? How can you tell difference between them an an eagle?" He asked.... Searching his phone again, Mike proclaimed "December 26". "You mean the day after Christmas?" "Yes, the day after Christmas."
The day after Christmas, in SE North Carolina, this year, was cold..lows in the 20's. It was an extremely cold Christmas weekend.
So, what does this mean? Obviously, this female had caught a fish from the cold waters (40-something degrees). Why wasn't she in migration mode? Or, was she? Hmmm. An Osprey at Christmas. Cool.'