Osprey on campus?

USM's Portland campus is playing host this afternoon to a very dapper raptor! Photos courtesy of Stacy Stewart, snapped on the scene. This large fellow perched himself in a tall pine between Payson-Smith Hall and the Science Building, and surveyed the scene haughtily. All the robins who had been littering the campus with their happy spring chirpings seem to have disappeared, as a result.

The guest raptor is quite sizeable, at least 2 1/2 feet tall and waving a mighty wingspan when the mood takes him. Local crows have attempted divebombing the osprey, to no avail. "He didn't even flinch!" reported an eyewitness. The guest has created a controversy over identification. Osprey? Hawk? Any guesses? Back view provided for avian sleuths among our readers. Please click on the images below for larger versions of them.