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My interest in the ospreys of the Chesapeake Bay goes back several years to about the same time I started working with the Venus figure. My fascination with this magnificent bird stems from not only the fact that it is a beautiful creature, but also because it mates for life and our society could stand to take a page from this bird's book. According to the American Psychological Assocation, in the United States "...couples marrying for the first time have approximately a fifty percent chance of divorcing." In addition, "...the divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher." That is a sad commentary on our society.

The osprey, or fish hawk, builds its nest on channel markers in inlets off the Chesapeake Bay and other places around the world. The nest is an immense structure, composed of a tangled web of tree branches hauled long distances from shore. Surrounded by water and close to abundant food, the osprey thrives in this setting. These are large birds with wing spans approaching 6 feet in length at maturity.

Ospreys were immortalized in an ancient Chinese poem. The poem, Song of the Ospreys, is a love song and it is one of the best known poems in all of Chinese literature. In the poem the ospreys are symbols of marital affection, undoubtedly because they mate for life. It is from the Book of Songs, which is considered the fountainhead of Chinese literature and is an anthology of 305 poems edited by Confucius (551-479 BCE). The poems may be dated from the 12th to the 7th c. BCE. Below are several translations of the first verse of the poem.

“Merrily the Ospreys cry,
On the islet in the stream.
Gentle and graceful is the girl,
A fit wife for the gentleman.”

“As the ospreys woo
On the river ait,
So the graceful lass
Has her manly mate.”

“Hark! From the islet in the stream the voice
Of the fish hawks that o’er their nest rejoice!
From them our thoughts to that young lady go,
Modest and virtuous, loth herself to show.
Where could be found, to share our prince’s state
So fair, so virtuous, and so fit a mate?”

Three Ospreys
linocut
10 x 16 inches

Alarmed Osprey
graphite on paper
24 x 18 inches

Gliding Osprey
graphite on paper
18 x 24 inches

Ascending Osprey
graphite on paper
18 x 24inches

Two Ospreys
graphite on paper
18 x 24 inches

An Osprey Takes Flight
linocut triptych
18 x 24 inches (each sheet)