raptors

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By UPDATE on 3 Eagles + 1 Osprey
I have had several delightful questions sent to me about my video.
I thought I would share my answers here with photos from the critical points:
1. The little male osprey caught a very, very large fish.
He has it tucked against his chest as he muscles the fish up.
2. It took several tries for the osprey to lift the fish from the water.
3. The osprey got some altitude and was making the bend toward his nest when he saw the eagle heading for him.
4. Bald eagles make a habit of stealing fish from ospreys … so the osprey tried to up his speed but…
5. Out of the cove to the osprey’s right (regretfully I didn’t get the osprey in the frame)
came a second bald eagle and the osprey dropped his large fish (you can see the splash).
Two eagles are not good odds for an osprey to face.
6. One of the bald eagles made a dash for the fish.
7. The fish was so large that the eagle was having trouble getting out of the water (don’t worry, eagles swim well).
8. While the first bald eagle was trying to get out of the water,
the second bald eagle made an attempt to harass the first eagle into abandoning the fish.
9. Bless his heart, the little osprey tried to get back his fish –
he’s in the upper left of the photo and was easily missed in the video.
The osprey gave up the chase and the fish.
The first eagle finally cleared the water without the fish.
10. Out of the back cove, Hershey dashed in (sorry about the focus) and grabbed the fish. Whew.
11. Hersey makes the mad dash for home.
And, THANK YOU for all your wonderful responses to my efforts with the Jordan Lake Neighborhood series!!

By JL Eagle Nest report: Oh Wow! 2 photos

H&G nest:     I was packing up getting ready to head over to my next stop down the lake. My camera was on the ground on its towel.  As I was putting stuff into various bundles for the long walk out, I heard the crows screaming as they started mobbing a raptor.  I stood up and turned toward the sound and instantly found myself almost face-to-face with a red-tailed hawk and five or six crows.  All of the birds scattered in totally different directions because they didn’t expect me there.  The crows quickly gathered together back around the hawk and the mob dove into a tall clump of pines about 50 feet from me.  In went the mob and out came momma bald eagle: Godiva exploded into the air out of the tree clump.  She passed right over me, fighting for lift and trying to avoid smacking into me.  I could feel the wind from her wings and hear their beat as I grabbed my camera and started shooting.  Godiva looked mighty grumpy!  I swear it took an hour for my heart to settle and my breath to come back.  What an awesome visit to the Jordan Lake Neighborhood.

head detail from the photo above