Osprey
birdfotos.com
Osprey
To learn m ore click the link
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Osprey.html
Map and ranges not to any scale or absolute.
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AND THEN IT HAPPENED!!
Like someone dropped their computer from a 10 story high window into the lake.
Kerrr-thudd-SPLASH! Almost sounded like someone had drove their car into the lake off a high pier.
Turning in the direction of the noise I saw nothing at first. Then like a giant helicopter trying to come up out of the water was this terrible splashing and thrashing and all I could see from my vantage point was much water being splashed around. It was early morning and the sunlight had not yet put any light on the spot at the bottom of this hill by the water where the noise and splashing was occurring. It was about the length of a football field away from me. The only camera I had at the time only had a 300 mm lens on it. Quickly pointing it in the direction of the noise I starting taking pictures. Good or bad I thought I will get some thing. And then it came up out of the water.
Higher and higher it flew until it was above the hill top where the sun hit it fully. What a site. I knew as soon as I saw it what it was. An Osprey had just caught its breakfast. It circled over head several times flying faster and higher constantly. I only photographed it when the sun was on it. The photos are not vary good but at least you see what I saw.
I'll take this opportunity to tell you the fish it had just caught was almost as long as the Osprey's body. I am going to say it was a Stripe Bass, approximately a 5 pounded, it was huge
I will show the entire image and show a cropped version so you can get a better look at the bird and fish. OH, I sure wish I had my 500 mm lens hooked up. But as you know, If wishes were horses, beggars would be riding.
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It caught the fish on the other side of this body of water but there was no sun light to take a photo by.
The bird was on its first circle to gain altitude.
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Look at the size of that fish.
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Using all of its energy it kept circling and gaining altitude ever so slowly.
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As you can see it is not very high off the ground or above the ground. It's now over behind me over the road into the site 6.
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The fish looks as big as the bird's body.
I know this must be at least a 5 pound bass.
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A LASS off into never-never land it went. I tried to follow in my car but to no avail.
I never did see it again and that's just as well. Now it could enjoy its catch in peace.
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AS you can see it has a good grasp on the fish and also you can see the size relationship between the fish and bird.
Good catch Osprey, I hope you enjoy your breakfast. I sure don't know how it will be able to eat that whole fish.
Very slowly I would assume.
Oh, what what I would have given to have my 500 mm lens handy that morning.
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Here's a couple of images I got while photographing the Great Blue Heron chicks in Yuma.
The bird was in the top of one of trees and looking down into a Great Blue Heron's nest, however the chicks were bigger than the osprey.
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I don't know how long it had been there but it flew away a few minutes after I photographed it.
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A few new photos as of 06/17/04
Gee, do ya have to watch me eat?
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It's such a good meal to let go to waist.
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Oh well, I gonna eat it even if you do take photos of me.
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AS of 12-05-05 more and better flying images
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