I could see the fish as Ace flared his talons for the snatch.
I heard the fisherman further up the bank yell.
Ace looked puzzled as he neared the fish and suddenly aborted his strike.
The osprey had been diving for a fish that the fisherman had just hooked and was reeling in.
Both the fisherman and I breathed better when my photos showed us that Ace had not caught himself on the fish, lure or line.
Whew.
When the lake is still and the sunlight is just above the horizon
the clay that often occurs in the lakebed reflects and tints everything with a burnished brassy hue.
These shiners and their shadows clearly stood out as they slowly swam past the point.
When I saw this great blue heron throw himself into the river my heart almost stopped –
not in fear for his life but because I knew that fishing technique.
Last October 1, I wrote of two great blue herons who helped me cope with my disability as they dealt with theirs.
I had not seen either heron for many months at that point and assumed they had gone Home.
Then this morning I saw Ball Foot make his plunge – his way to fish because of a foot that was balled-up due to fishing line.
I whooped in triumph with him as he pulled this fish from the Haw – oh, my.
the eagle does not have the osprey’s specialized roughened talons for holding fish
yet, even if the eagle has caught the fish with just one foot
it makes no effort to get the second foot on the fish or to a better position
this may account for the higher number of drops I see made, especially by the young eagles rather than by juvenile ospreys
only a mature bald eagle has the arrogance and grace
to be this close to the shore and pluck from the river a large fish
and then bow away with ease
would somebody PLEASE catch that fish before it gets back to the river
to order a print of this photo, please go to http://www.dreamingsongsphotos.com/
doc ellen's journey 