male osprey

Tag

By Whew! Ace missed!

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.

WALK6827 Jul 13 2015 @ 09-10-07 Haw River Ace fishing lure

By unusual view

WALK3540 Mar 29 2015 16-50-51 Osprey fish eye to eye

this male osprey came in from my left, plowed into the fish, caught the fish with his right talon
he then snapped his wings full up and back and lifted himself and the fish from the river
an unusual viewing angle for me

By fish carry

WALK2243 Mar 28 2015 02-46-08 Haw River Osprey fish carry 1

this is the typical aerodynamic way that an osprey carries its catch
they turn the fish around into this position, mid flight

By building material

WALK0764 Mar 23 2015 05-21-30 Haw River Ace with Stick

I watched as, way downriver, Ace snapped this stick from a tree –
then flew past me carrying it back to the nest as building/repairing material.