If you spend enough time in the outdoors near any bodies of water such as a lake or river, you will most likely witness the greatest fishing avian in Pennsylvania.

I had the wonderful experience to watch three of the best fresh water predators that the Commonwealth has as residents. A family friend, Jim Bonetti, was able to take a unique photo of a Great Blue Heron dining on a freshly caught trout in the Neshannock Creek near Volant.

Although the Heron has the skills to stab an unsuspecting trout, he may find it difficult to swallow such a large fish without choking.

The Great Blue Heron has the reputation of trying to swallow prey that’s too large and in the end it is his undoing.

If I was going to pick three avian predators that are consistently successful they would have to be the Osprey, Great Blue Heron and the Bald Eagle.

They all have voracious appetites for fish and they all have their own unique style in catching dinner.

The Great Blue Heron is a silent stalker and waits patiently in the shallows for unsuspecting fish, amphibians and reptiles. The long, thick, yellow bill is like a spear point for this long-legged and long-necked bird that only weighs between four to eight pounds.

The bird can be up to 38 inches tall, 55 inches from head to tail and have a wing span of up to 79 inches.

The Heron nest in large stick nests usually over water or wetlands. The Great Blue Heron also nest in large colonies known as a rookery.

They are unusual to observe as these birds fly in way much like pterodactyls with croaking calls. There are rookeries that I know of in Butler, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango Counties with the easiest one to see being just south of Franklin on Route 8.

The Osprey population has made a wonderful comeback in the Western Pennsylvania area and all over the commonwealth. Years ago the Moraine State Park, the Moraine Conservation Fund and the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission collaborated on efforts to reintroduce the Osprey back to Lake Arthur by using hacking towers and placing nesting tower poles around the lake.

Active nests continue to be used by the Osprey and can be seen from the fishing pier where the Nautical Nature boat is moored at McDaniel’s Launch.

The Osprey is about two feet long, with a wing span of four to six feet and weighs about two to four pounds. The Osprey is often referred to as the fish hawk or sea hawk because of their regular habit of diving for fish. Osprey can sight their underwater target from more than 100 feet in the air and will dive in the water from great heights. They have the unique ability of closing their nostrils.

I watched an Osprey take a 12 inch fish right out of Bear Run Cove in Lake Arthur, and it was truly amazing.

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the nations’ symbol, the Bald Eagle. The recovery and successful reintroduction of the Bald Eagle is nothing less than remarkable. Nesting pairs rebounded enough to have it taken off the endangered species list in 1997. Bald Eagles can range from five to 17 pounds.

Alaskan birds feeding on salmon are generally the largest birds. Females are larger than their male counterparts and contrary to popular belief do not always mate for life.

On Saturday I was able to observe a Bald Eagle feeding on carrion near Slippery Rock.

Although the Bald Eagle is an opportunist, he can achieve speeds of up to 99 mph as he picks off unwary fish weighing up to 12 pounds sunning near the surface of the water.

The nest of the Bald Eagle is the largest nest of any bird in North America. One nest was recorded to weigh more than a ton and the birds used it year after year. The PGC, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, power companies, and other conservation groups have successfully built nesting sites for the Bald Eagle.

Don’t forget to grab your camera and binoculars as you watch these amazing birds put their skills put into action.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle