The Fish Hawk Up Close: teacher key

Ospreys, grade 9 edition, written for 9th grade. Ospreys eat almost nothing but fish. They live near water, hunt by diving, build large stick nests, and fly south for the winter, and their numbers in the Chesapeake Bay fell and then recovered.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. About how often does a dive end with a fish caught?
   • On a quarter or more of dives (answer)
   • On almost no dives
   • On every single dive
2. What does how often an osprey catches a fish depend on?
   • Only the size of its nest
   • Only the time of year
   • Its ability, the weather and the tide (answer)
3. What kept water from entering an osprey's nostrils?
   • A thick bill
   • Dense oily plumage and efficient nasal valves (answer)
   • A closed third eyelid
4. How low did the Chesapeake Bay osprey population fall in the early 1970s?
   • About 1,450 pairs (answer)
   • About 14 pairs
   • About 145,000 pairs
5. Why do the eggs hatch in the order they were laid?
   • The eggs are all laid in one day
   • The largest egg is laid first
   • Incubation starts when the first egg is laid (answer)
6. When do ospreys arrive in the Chesapeake Bay region?
   • Late November
   • Early March (answer)
   • Midwinter